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THE  LIBRARY 

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GIFT  OF 
Carleton        Shay 


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THE 

LAND  OF  MOAB: 

TRAVELS  AND  DISCOVERIES 

ON  THE  EAST  SIDE 

OF  THE  DEAD  SEA  AND  THE  JORDAN. 

BY 

H.  B.  TRISTRAM,  M.A.,  LL.D.,  RR.S., 

HON.   CANON    OF    DURHAM. 

WITH  A  CHAPTER  ON  THE  PERSIAN  PALACE  OF  MASHITA, 

By  JAS.  FERGUSON,  F.R.S. 

WITH  MAP,  AND 
ILLUSTRATIOIVS  BY  C.  L.  BUXTON  AND  R.  C.  JOHNSON. 


WAT^':'  -^f^'    '^Ml 


NEW    YORK: 

HARPER    &     BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS. 

FRANKLIN     SQUARE. 
1873- 


DS 
lor 


PREFACE 


The  circumstances  under  which  the  expedition,  the 
results  of  which  are  narrated  in  the  following  pages, 
was  undertaken,  are  sufficiently  explained  in  the  tirst 
chapter. 

,  The  object  was  a  careful  examination  of  the  present 
state  of  a  country  frequently  referred  to  in  the  Old 
Testament  Scriptures,  and  intimately  connected  with 
Jewish  history,  but  which  has  not  been  traversed  at 
leisure  by  any  explorer  since  the  fall  of  the  Roman 
empire. 

That  the  journey  has  produced  some  results  which 
may  justify  us  for  having  disregarded  the  advice  so 
earnestly  given  by  the  Palestine  Exploration  Fund  to 
persons  about  to  explore — Don't !  "  To  those  who  pro- 
pose to  raise  any  private  expedition,  we  would  say, 
Wait  !"* — it  is  hoped  will  be  admitted  on  a  perusal  of 
the  narrative. 

The  recovery  of  several  ancient  sites;  the  careful 
verification  of  Machferus,  the  scene  of  John  the  Baptist's 
imprisonment  and  martyrdom ;  the  very  interesting 
discovery  of  Zoar,  with  the  valuable  illustration  it  af- 
fords of  the  careful  accuracy  of  the  Scriptural  narra- 
tive in  the  minutest  details;  the  finding  of  a  palace  of 
Chosroes,  with  its  sumptuous  architecture,  and  the  ray 
of  light  it  casts  upon  one  of  the  most  obscure  periods 
of  later  Roman  history — these  certainly  were  enough 
to  reward  the  most  sanguine  explorei". 

Even  apart  from  these  principal  discoveries,  there 
is  scarcely  a  passage  in  Holy  Writ,  in  which  Moab  is 
mentioned,  which  was  not  in  some  degree  illustrated 

*  "  Our  Work  in  Palestine,"  p.  328. 


813962 


6  PREFACE. 

during  the  journey;  and  the  glowing  prophecies  of 
Isaiah  and  Jeremiah,  the  allusions  of  Amos  and  Zeph- 
aniah,  the  story  of  the  wars  of  Sihon,  of  Jephthah,  and 
of  Joab,  must  ever  be  read  with  deepened  interest  by 
those  who  have  noted  their  marvelous  coincidences 
with  the  state  of  the  country  as  we  now  see  it. 

Arab  society  also  is  in  a  more  primitive  and  sim- 
ple state  than  where  affected  by  intercourse  with  other 
nationalities  in  the  rest  of  Syria.  The  Beni  Sakk'r  are 
true  Midianites  in  all  their  habits :  the  minor  tribes  re- 
produce, perhaps,  the  nearest  parallel  to  the  state  of 
Canaan  at  the  time  of  the  Israelitish  conquest  which 
can  be  found  existing  at  the  present  day. 

I  must  take  this  opportunity  of  expressing  my  deep 
sense  of  my  obligations  to  the  friends  who  have  assisted 
me  in  the  work : — to  Mr.  Fergusson,  for  his  solution  of 
the  problem  of  the  Persian  palace,  and  for  the  valuable 
contributions,  both  by  pen  and  pencil,  to  its  architect- 
ural history,  which  enrich  the  volume ;  to  my  friend 
and  fellow -traveler,  Mr.  Klein,  for  the  sagacity  and 
forethought  which  insured  the  success  of  our  journey ; 
and  to  my  zealous  and  indefatigable  young  brothers 
of  the  tent,  whose  enthusiasm  and  happy  tempers  light- 
ened every  labor,  and  whose  only  rivalry  was  in  pro- 
moting the  objects  of  our  expedition.  To  Messrs.  Bux- 
ton and  Johnson  I  owe  all  the  illustrations  of  the  vol- 
ume, selected  from  the  splendid  series  of  one  hundred 
and  eighty  photographs  which  they  secured  and  gen- 
erously placed  at  my  disposal. 

One  of  our  party  is  now  beyond  the  reach  of  my 
thanks — William  Amherst  Hayne,  of  saintly  memory, 
suddenly,  within  the  last  few  days,  removed,  at  what 
seemed  to  be  the  dawn  of  a  career  of  rare  promise. 
He  lived  in  his  Bible,  and  clung  to  its  promises ;  and 
now  in  a  foreign  land  his  body  rests,  awaiting  in  Christ 
a  glorious  resurrection. 

Greatham  Vicarage,  February,  1873. 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  I. 

View  of  the  Mountains  of  Moab  from  Jerusalem.— Previous  Expedi- 
ditions.— Messrs.  Palmer  and  Tyrwhitt  Drake.— British  Associ- 
ation.—Companions.— Mr.  Klein.—  Preliminary  Negotiations.— 
The  Adwan.— Preparations  at  Jerusalem. — The  Ta'amirah.  — Arab 
Chicanery. —  Muleteer  in  Prison.— Start  for  the  South.— Bethle- 
hem.—Volunteer  Escort  of  Ta'amirah.— Hebron.— Our  first  Biv- 
ouac—Old Friends.— Sheik  Hamzi,  an  Arab  Attorney.— Fruitless 
Negotiations.— Mosque  and  Bazars  at  Hebron.— A  Jewish  Interi- 
or.—Abou  da  Houk  and  the  Jehalin.— Diplomatic  Difficukies.— 
A  Kerak  Guide.— Signature  of  a  Contract.— Payment  of  Deposit. 
—Storm  under  Canvas.- Route  from  Hebron Page  17 

CHAPTER  II. 

Route  from  Hebron  to  Engedi.—Yakin.— Forest  of  Ziph.— Kirbet 
Zadoud.— Ka'abineh  Camp.—  Hospitality.— Arab  Coffee.— Unex- 
pected Flood  in  the  Night.— Effect  of  sudden  Rains.— Change  of 
Flora.— Wady  el  Gliar.— El  Husasah,  Hazziz.— CM  of  Ziz.—Hteep 
Pass.— Descent  to  Engedi.— Rich  Botany.— Rash  ay  ideh  Arabs.— 
A  Bedouin  Fantasia.— Ornithology  of  Engedi.— Camp  under  Seb- 
beh  (Masada)  Wady  Seyal.— Lifeless  Desolation.— Wady  Makhe- 
ras.— Visit  to  the  Fortress  of  Masada.— Ancient  Jewish  Syna- 
gogue.—Contrast  with  the  Synagogues  of  Galilee.— Acoustic  Phe- 
nomenon.—Remarkable  Aurora.— Route  to  Jebel  Usdum.— Ford 
to  the  Lisan.— View  of  Mount  Hor.— Curious  Arab  Custom.— 
Oasis  of  Zuweirah.  — Lateness  of  the  Season 35 

CHAPTER  III. 

An  early  Start.— Effect  of  the  Sun  on  the  Mountains. — Sudden  Thun- 
der-storm.—A  Salt  Cavern.— Marl  Deposit  on  the  Salt  Mountain. 


8  CONTENTS. 

— Its  Origin. — Elevation  of  the  New  Red  Sandstone. — Position  of 
the  Salt  Rock. —  Crossing  the  Sebkha. —  Alarm  of  Marauders. — 
Frontier  of  Moab. — Sudden  Apparition  of  Enemies. — A  threatened 
Skirmish. — Naked  Warriors. — Our  Guide  stripped. — The  Beni  Ati- 
yeh. — A  Treaty  made. —  March  through  the  Wood. — Difficulties 
of  Exploration. — A  costly  Guard. — Vegetation  of  the  Safieh. — An- 
cient Remains. — Kasr  el  Bushariyeh. — Old  Mill. — Moslem  Bury- 
ing-ground. — Remains  exposed. — Boundary  of  Moab. — Brook  Ze- 
red. — Suphah. —  Variety  in  the  Vegetation  of  the  Safieh. —  Horse- 
men from  Kerak. — Son  of  the  ^NludjeUi. — Petty  Thefts. — A  Mule 
on  its  Trial. — Return  of  the  Jehalin Page  53 

CHAPTER  IV. 

From  the  Safieh  to  Kerak. — Wady  Gra"hhi. — Ford  of  the  Stinking 
River. — Nemeirah. — The  Waters  of  Nimrim  :  their  real  Position. 
— Not  identical  with  Nemeirah. — Poor  Ruins. — The  Brook  of  the 
Willows. — Wady  Asal. — The  Shoulder  of  the  Lisan. — Wady  Dra'a. 
— View  of  the  Lisan. — Contrast  of  the  Geology  of  the  east  and 
west  Sides  of  the  Dead  Sea. — A  charming  Glen. — Mezra'ah,  Zoar. 
—  Disputed  Identity  with  Dra'a. — A  turbulent  Guard. —  Noctur- 
nal Alarms. — Splendid  Sunrise. — Attempted  Robbery. — Successful 
Extortion. —  Ascent  to  Kerak. —  Magnificent  Gorge. —  Geological 
Studies. — Basaltic  Streams. — El  Kubboh. — Crusading  Traditions. 
— Raynald  of  Chatillon. — Panoramic  View  of  the  Dead  Sea.— Bed- 
ouin Camps  and  Shepherds. — Wady  R'seir. — Wady  of  Kerak. — 
Rugged  Ascent. — Strange  Access  to  a  City. — Tunnel  in  the  Rock. 
— Arrival  at  Kerak 70 

CHAPTER  V. 

Kerak. — A  natural  Fortress  :  its  Height,  Position,  Form,  Area,  For- 
tifications.— Accessible  only  by  Tunnels. — The  Castle  of  Bybars. 
— The  great  Castle :  its  Shape,  Moat,  Cistern,  Crypt,  Chapel,  Gate- 
ways.— Occupation  of  Castle  by  Ibrahim  Pasha. — Water  Supply. 
— Mosque. — Ancient  Basilica. — Our  Camp  in  the  Castle  of  Bybars. 
— Greek  School-master. —  A  Friend  in  need. —  Kerak  Interior. — 
Roman  Pavement. — Ancient  Bath. — Antiques  and  Coins. — Chris- 
tian Quaiter. — Greek  Church. — School  and  Bibles. — Threats  of  the 


CONTENTS,  ^ 

Cbiefs.-Ransom  demanded. -Find  ourselves  Prisoners. -Messen- 
ger to  Jerusalem.-Every  Man  his  own  Thief-catchei-. -Value  of 
Pork  -Daoud's  Stratagem.-Midnight  Interview. -Welcome  Aid. 
-Amval  of  the  Beni  8akk'r,  Sheik  Zadam.-The  Tables  turned. 
_A  Sunday  under  Arrest. -Arabic  Service. -Greek  Chnstians.- 
Demands  on  the  Hakim.-View  from  the  Castle  WalL-Relations 
of  Kerak  and  the  Beni  Sakk'r. -Excursion  under  Guard.-Our 
Letter  discovered.— Renewed  Threats ^age    .. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Excursion  to  the  south  of  Kerak.-Kureitun.-The  twin  To^vns.- 
Kiriathaim.-1h^  Highlands  of  Moab.-Ruined  Cities. -Azizah. 
_  Wine-presses.  -  M'hheileh.-  Jubah.  -  Roman  Road.  -  Mah- 
k'henah.-Cisterns.-Modeh.-Roman  Mile-stones. -Mesh  had^- 
Madin.-Theniyeh.-Arabic  Names.-Kerak,  Kir-moah,  or  Kvr- 
haresetL-OhsUnacj  of  the  Mudjelli. -Visit  to  the  Council.-Di- 
plomacy  about  Ransom.-Arab  Manoeuvres. -Off  at  last -Ire- 
Lndo^s  Storm.-Road  to  Rabba. -Rakim. -Roman  Road^- Ar- 
rival atRabba.-Campin  a  Tank. -Description  of  Rabba. -Roman 
Temples.-Basaltic  Stones.-The  Kerak  Men  again.-Daouds  In- 
genuity for  the  Horse  s  Corn.-Robbery  of  the  Letter-carrier. -Bad 
jjews.— Mr.  Klein  recalled 

CHAPTER  VII. 
From  Rabba  to  the  Arnon.-Visit  from  the  Hamideh  -Characters  of 
Zadam  and  Sahan.-Ibn  Tarif.-Present  ^^^^^  "^'^ ^l^'-'^^^ 
Tarif's  Attention. -Roman  Way-side  Temple.-Missdehh.-Ham- 
eitat,  the  ancient  Ham.-Kasr  Rabba.-Beit  el  Kivrm- Large 
Temple.-Ar  and  Areopolis.-A  pillar  Letter-box  m  the  Wastes- 
News  from  Jerusalem-Troops  on  the  move  fgr  oar  Rescue. -The 
Mudjelli  returns.-Restoration  of  Mr.  Kleins  Letter. -Shihan.- 
Curious  Inclosure  of  Basalt.-Sihon  and  the  Amorites.-The  View 
from  Jebel  Shihan.-Muhatet  el  Haj.-Jahaz.-Descent  to  the  Ar- 
non  -Basaltic  Dike.-Ti-aces  of  Roman  Road.-Ruined  Forts.- 
"The  City  in  the  midst  of  the  River. "-Rugged  Ascent. -A  Mount- 
ain Pass  in  the  Darkness. -Dreary  Camp  on  the  Uplands. -Mr. 
Klein's  Departure.-Aroer.-Topography  of  the  Arnon.-Ride  to 


10  CONTENTS. 

Dhiban.— Its  Ruins.— The  Moabite  Stone.— Conjectures  as  to  its 
original  Position.— Means  of  its  Preservation.— An  Oil-press.— 
Identity  of  Dhiban  with  Dibon Page  130 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

From  Dibon  eastward.— Beni  Sakk'r  Flocks  and  Herds.— The  Plain 
of  the  Vineyards.— Rhibuyeh.— The  Ruins  of  Um  Rasas.— Its 
Walls.— Abundance  of  Game.— Wild-cats.— Beni  Sakk'r  Camp.— 
Considerate  Neighbors.— Deep  Tank.— The  Raven's  Home.— Um 
Rasas,  within  the  Walls  and  without.— Three  ruined  Churches.— 
Apses  still  remaining.— Arches  and  Streets.— Amphitheatre.— Iso- 
lated mortuary  Tower.— Church  in  the  Plain.— Quaint  Tradition 
and  Legend.— Freedom  of  the  Desert.— Intense  Cold.— Animal  Life 
of  the  Plains.— M'Seitbeh.— Ancient  Block-houses.— Wady  Butm. 
—Letters  from  the  Brigade. — A  long  Sunday's  Ride.— Crossing  the 
Themed.— Visit  to  Zadam's  Tent.— Westward  ho!— Rumors  of 
the  Troops.— Ajermeh  Camp.— Ride  in  the  Dark.— A  Turcoman 
Guide.— The  Camp.— Reception  by  the  Pasha.— Depositions  taken 
down.— A  bitter  Night.— Beiram.— Grand  Salute.— Speculations  on 
Kerak ^^^ 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Return  from  the  Wady  Na'ur  to  Um  Rasas.— Royal  Entertainment  by 
the  Ajermeh.— Our  Horses  keep  Beiram.— Coffee-drinking. —She- 
rouan's  many  Calls.— Wandering  Tramps.— A  Beggar's  Hospital- 
ity.— Return  to  our  Tents.— Reports  of  a  buried  Stone.— Zadam's 
Account  of  the  black,  or  basalt.  Country  eastward.— El  Hhurreh. — 
Stone  Cities.— Eastward  ho!— Mirage  on  the  Plains.— Gazelle 
Hunt.— The  Hadj  Road.— Khan  Zebib.— Description  of  the  ruined 
Khan.— Traces  of  earlier  Buildings.— Remains  of  a  Doric  Temple. 
—Labyrinth  of  Cisterns.— Prehistoric  Remains.— Cairns.— A  vain 
Pursuit  after  the  Stone  of  Rasas 175 

CHAPTER  X. 

Departure  from  Um  Rasas.— Dhra'a.— The  Themed.— R'mail.— A 
riverside  Camp.— Zafiiran.— A  military  Keep.— Supplies  running 
short.— Start  for  the  North-east.— Kasr  el  Herri.— Surveying.— 


CONTENTS.  11 

Roman  Road.— Urn  "Weleed.— Extent  of  Um  Weleed.— Saracenic 
Klian. — Roman  City. — Streets. — Large  Court,  or  Pretorium  Gate- 
^vaj-. — Doric  Temple. — Date  of  these  Cities. — No  Clues  to  the  an- 
cient Name. — Um  el  Kuseir. — Large  Caverns. — Ziza. — Interesting 
Remains.— Roman  military  Station. — Magnificent  Tank.— Elabo- 
rate System  of  Irrigation  in  olden  Time. — Large  vaulted  Fort. — 
Burial-place  aloft.— Ibrahim  Pasha's  Garrison.— Other  Forts  de- 
'  stroyed. — Remains  of  Cuphic  Inscriptions. — Fine  Christian  Church. 
— Variety  of  wild  Animals  and  Birds. — Return  of  Convoy  from  Je- 
rusalem.—Evening  Bells. — A  Fugitive.— Stripped  by  the  Anizeh. 
— The  Ibex-hunter. — Honesty  of  our  Men  and  of  the  Turkish  Sol- 
diers.— Sunday's  Rest. — Mohammedan  Criticism  on  Christian  In- 
consistency  Rage  190 

CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Palace  of  Mashita.— Ride  from  Ziza.— Limestone  Knolls  rising 
above  the  Plain. — Their  geological  Origin.— Gradual  Formation  of 
the  Table-land.— Hadj  Road.— Palace  suddenly  in  Sight.— First 
Impressions.— Description  of  the  Palace.— Outer  Wall. — Bastions. 
— Gorgeous  Facade. — Octagonal  Bastions. — Gate-way.— Delinea- 
tions of  Animals  and  Birds. — Inner  Area. — Inhabited  Portion. — Its 
Plan. — Rich  Gate-way.  —  Corinthian  Capitals. — Arch  overthrown 
by  Earthquake. — Long  Inscriptions. — NabathiEan  or  Pelvic? — Pe- 
culiar Bricks. — Large  open  Hall. — "Vaulted  Roof  —  Inner  Door- 
way.— Peculiar  Capitals.— Large  inner  domed  Hall  with  alcoved 
Recesses. — Inner  Chambers. — Construction  of  the  outer  Wall. — 
Hollow  Bastion.— The  Palace  never  finished. — The  Builders  inter- 
rupted.— No  local  Tradition  of  its  Origin. — Probably  Chosroes  II., 
of  Persia,  its  Builder,  a.d.  614. —  Campaign  of  Chosroes. —  Con- 
quest of  Syria. — Capture  of  Jerusalem. — Sudden  Reverse. —Advance 
of  Heraclius,  a.d.  624. — The  whole  East  reconquered  by  Rome, 
A.D.  632.  —  Irruption  of  the  Saracens. — Final  Devastation  of  the 
Country. — Its  Disappearance  from  History. — Sassanian  Origin  of 
the  Palace  confirmed  by  its  Architecture.— Mr.  Fergusson's  Opin- 
ion.—El  Ah'la 210 


12  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Second  Visit  to  Mashita. — Expedition  to  Kustul. — Imperial  Eagle. — 
Interesting  Character  of  the  Remains  of  Kustul. — Castellated  Tem- 
ple.— Corinthian  Pilasters. — Nabathaean  Inscriptions. — Larger  Cas- 
tle.— Vaulted  Chambers  and  massive  Bastions. — A  Greek  Altar  ex- 
humed.— Walls  for  collecting  Water. — Kustul-Castellum. — Thenib. 
— Rujum  Hamam. — Views  of  the  Belka. — Southward  Migration  of 
the  Beni  Sakk'r.  —  Move  Camp  toward  the  West. — Azabarah. — 
Jebel  Jelul. — Magnificent  Panorama. — Sufa. — Trained  Falcons. — 
Women  Water-drawers. — Arrival  at  our  Camp. — Visit  from  Fendi 
y  Faiz.  —  Entertainment  of  the  great  Sheik. — Photographing  of 
the  Princes. — Escort  of  the  Hadj. — Parting  with  the  Sahan. — De- 
lay at  Habis. — Descent  of  the  Wady  Habis. — Junction  with  the 
Zerka  Ma'in. — Contrast  between  the  Highlands  of  Moab  and  the 
Mountains Page  231 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Change  from  the  Highlands. — TheHamideh. — Lords  of  high  and  low 
Degree.  —  Septs  and  political  Divisions  of  the  Hamideh. —  Their 
Habits  and  Character. — Ornithology  of  the  Glens. — The  Callirrhoe. 
— An  Evening's  Fishing. — Geology  of  the  Zerka  Ma'in. — Basaltic 
Streams. — Descent  to  the  hot  Springs. — The  Baths  of  Herod. — 
Hamideh  Camp.  —  Nubian  Slave.  —  A  Sulphur  Hot- bath.  —  De- 
scriptions of  Josephus  and  Pliny. — Ptolemy's  Geography. — Sulphur 
Ten-aces. — Rapid  Deposits. — Basalt  and  Limestone. — Palm-groves. 
— Temperature  of  the  Springs. —  Natural  Formation  of  Tunnels. — 
Primitive  Vapor-bath. — Arab  Traditions. — Legend  of  King  Solo- 
mon.— Sacrificial  Rites. — Strange  Plants. — The  Shrub  of  Josephus. 
— The  Sulphur  Plant. — Orobanches. — Butterflies  and  rare  Birds. — 
Ibex. — Sunday  at  Callirrhoe. — Amateur  Physician. — Venison  and 
Butter. — Hamideh  horned  Cattle 245 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Visit  to  Machserus. —  Delays  at  Starting. —  Superstitions  and  Obsti- 
nacy of  Muleteers. — Wady  Z'gara. — Deep  Gorge. — Fine  Land- 
scape.— Ruins  of  Machierus.  —  The  Town.  —  Roman  Road.  —  For- 


CONTENTS.  13 

tress. — Citadel— Dungeons.— The  Baptist's  Prison.— Pliny's  Ac- 
count.— History  of  Machmrus. — Josephus's  Description. — The  Mac- 
cabees.—Herod  the  Great. — Fabled  Plant.— Siege  by  L.  Bassus. — 
Identity  of  the  Castle  with  the  Baptist's  Prison. — Hamideh  Hospi- 
tality.— Fresli  Butter.— Grand  Panorama. — Stone  Circles. — Expe- 
dition to  Attarus. — Horses  lost  and  found. — A  wooded  District. — 
View.  —  Jebel  Attarus.  —  Kureiyat. —  Identity  with  Kiriathaim. — 
Attarus  and  Ataroth Page  2(>7 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Visit  to  Zara,  the  ancient  Zareth-shahar. — Volcanic  Soil. — Rich  Bot- 
any.—  Descent  to  Dead  Sea. —  Ancient  Road. —  Scouts  ahead. — 
False  Alarm.  —  Beni  Sakk'r  and  their  Camels.^  Vegetation  and 
Springs  of  Zara.— Hebrew  City. — Baths,  hot  and  cold. — Birds. — 
Along  the  Shore.— Rugged  Path.— Mouth  of  the  Callirrhoe.— Ro- 
mantic Glen.— The  Ibex-hunter. — A  rough  Scramble. — Water-fall. 
— Home  at  last. — Sunday  in  the  Gorge.— The  Ibex  and  its  Habits. 
—Unsuccessful  Hunt.— The  Hakim.— Medical  Cases.— Ornitholo- 
gy of  the  Callirrhoe.— Oin-  Postman  robbed.— Topography  of  the 
District 29 1 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Departure  from  Callirrhoe.— Night  Alarm.— Horses  stolen.— Pursuit. 
— Camp  Fires.— Wild  Seclusion.— Ascent  to  the  Highlands.— Pri- 
meval Remains.— Dolmens.— Corn-fields.— Gazelle.— Ma'in,  Baal- 
jJ/eo«.— Balaam's  Progress  with  Balak.— His  Stations.— Medeba. 
—Pigeons. — Alarm  of  Shepherds. — Farewell  to  the  Hamideh. — A 
Beni  Sakk'r  Farmer.— Tenure  of  Land.— History  of  Medeba.— Its 
Citadel.— Isolated  Columns.  —  Inscriptions.— Colonnaded  Square. 
—Churches.— Immense  Reservoir.— Richness  of  the  Soil.  —  Part 
with  old  Friends.— Letter  from  the  Adwan.— A  Jericho  Naturalist. 
— Endless  Villages 3X0 

CHAPTER  XVIL 

The  north-west  Comer  of  Moab.— Its  many  Ravines.— Wheat  Culti- 
vation.— Belka  Arabs.— Maslubeiyeh.— Splendid  Panorama. — Dol- 
mens.—  Jedeid. —  Nebbeh.— Its  Identity  with   Nebo.— View  of 


14  CONTENTS. 

Moses.  —  Ancient  Authorities.  —  Zi'ara. —  Interesting  Ruins. — Ba- 
laam's Views. — Identity  of  Zi'ara  and  Zoar. — Position  of  the  Cities 
of  the  Plain. — Arguments  for  placing  them  north  of  the  Dead  Sea. 
— Mr.  Grove's  Inference. — Ayun  Moussa. — Springs  of  Moses. — Pic- 
turesque Glen. — Cascades. — M"Shuggar. — Ajermeh. — Heshbon. — 
Adwan  Camp. — Elealeh. — Night  Search  for  Camp. — Goblan's  Wel- 
come. — His  Character.  — Tragic  Crime Page  331 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Wady  Heshban. — Goblan's  Affection. — Married  beneath  him. — 
Botany  of  North-west  Moab. — Ancient  Tablets  and  Tombs. — 
Changed  Features  of  Scenery. — Circle  of  Dolmens. — Cairn. — De- 
scent to  the  Ghor. — Ghawarineh  Camp. — Old  Acquaintances. — 
Beth-haran. — Night-watch. — Excursion  down  the  Coast. — Beth- 
jeshimoth. —  Camp  of  Israel. — Wady  Jerifeh. — Ain  Suwaineh. — 
Vegetation  of  the  Shore. — Wady  Ghadeimeh. — Clear  Atmosphere. 
— Rich  Coloring. — Wady  Ghuweir. — Arab  Battle-field.  —  Falcons. 
— Our  Path  blocked. — Palm-groves. — A  Halt. — Ornithologv\ — An 
Arab  Collector. — Gale  of  Wind. — The  Tents  carried  off. — A  sound 
Sleeper. — Ride  to  the  Jordan. — Ferry-boat. — Return  to  Civiliza- 
tion.— Jericho. — Our  old  Camping-ground. — Bethany  in  Spring. — 
Entiy  into  Jerusalem. — Our  Wanderings  ended 355 

CHAPTER 

ON  THE  PERSIAN  PALACE  OF  MASHITA. 

By  James  Fergusson,  F.R.S 378 


Appendix  A. — Aurora  at  Sebbeh.     By  R.  C.  Johnson 397 

Appendix  B. — Account  of  a  curious  Physical  Phenomenon  wit- 
nessed at  Ziza.     By  R.  C.  Johnson 398 

Appendix  C— On  the  Flora  of  Moab.    By  the  late  W.  Amherst 
Hayne,  B.  a.,  Trinity  College,  Cambridge 400 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


External  Facade,  Palace  of  Mashita Frontispiece. 

No.  Page 

1.  Sebbeh,  AND  Dead  Sea 47 

2.  Arab  Skirmish to  face    58 

3.  Tunnel  Entrance,  Kerak 83 

4.  Castle  Walls,  Kerak 87 

5.  Our  Camp,  Kerak to  face     89 

6.  Crusaders'  Fort,  Kerak 90 

7.  Kerak  House-tops 95 

8.  Ancient  Lamp  found  at  Kerak 110 

9.  Ruins  of  Dhiban 148 

10.  Oil-press 151 

11.  Sketch  of  Um  Rasas ..to face  158 

12.  Christian  Tower,  Um  Rasas to  face  160 

13.  Khan  Zebib 18G 

14.  Sculptured  Entablatures,  Khan  Zebib 188 

15.  Plan  of  Temple,  Um  Weleed 195 

16.  ZizA,  from  the  Distance 198 

17.  Tank  at  Ziza 199 

18.  Pigeon-hole  Stones,  Ziza 203 

19.  CuPHic  Inscriptions,  Ziza 204 

20.  Interior  of  ruined  Palace 213 

21.  Gate-way  of  Palace 214 

22.  Octagon  Tower 215 

23.  Fallen  Arch 216 

24.  Plan  of  Palace,  Mashita to  face  219 

25.  El  Kustul .' 233 

26.  Panorama,  Upper  Zerka  Ma'in to  face  245 

27.  Rocks  at  Entrance  of  Zerka  Ma'in 250 

28.  Plan  of  Mach^rus 274 


16  LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS. 

No.  Page 

29.  Terebinth-tree  on  Attards 286 

30.  The  Zerka  Ma'in 288 

31.  Zara 296 

32.  Mouth  of  the  Callirrhoe 299 

33.  Dolmen a 314 

34.  Columns  at  Medeba 323 

35.  Temple  at  Medeba 325 

36.  Palm-trees  by  the  Dead  Sea to  face  368 

37.  Inner  Palace   of  Mashita,  from   within   the   outer 

Gate-way to  face  379 

38.  Elevation  of  West  Wing  Wall  of  external  Facade 

of  Palace  at  Mashita to  face  382 

39.  Elevation  of  one  Compartment  of  Western  Octagon 

Tower  at  Mashita to  face  384 

40.  Tak  Kesea 385 

41.  Church  at  Tourmanin 392 


(V 


Sow  York, Hairier  SBroUK 


THE  LAND  OF  MOAB. 


CHAPTER  I. 

View  of  the  Mountains  of  Moab  from  Jerusalem. — Previous  Expedi- 
ditions. —  Messrs.  Palmer  and  Tyrwhitt  Drake. —  British  Associ- 
ation.—  Companions. —  Mr.  Klein.— Preliminary  Negotiations. — 
The  Adwan. — Preparations  at  Jerusalem. — The  Ta'amirah. — Arab 
Chicanery. —  Muleteer  in  Prison. —  Start  for  the  South.  —  Bethle- 
hem.— Volunteer  Escort  of  Ta'amirah. — Hebron. — Our  first  Biv- 
ouac—Old Friends.— Sheik  Hamzi,  an  Arab  Attorney. — Fruitless 
Negotiations. — Mosque  and  Bazars  at  Hebron. — A  Jewish  Interi- 
or.— Abou  da  Houk  and  the  Jehalin. — Diplomatic  Difficulties. — 
A  Kerak  Guide. — Signature  of  a  Contract. — Payment  of  Deposit. 
— Storm  under  Canvas. — Route  from  Hebron. 

Who  that  has  stood  outside  the  walls  of  Jerusalem, 
or  on  the  Mount  of  Olives,  has  not  gazed  with  wistful 
interest  on  those  blue  hills  rising  with  clear  outline 
be^^ond  the  thin  haze  which  overhangs  the  deep  hid- 
den lake  of  salt,  nor  wondered  what  the  land  of  Moab 
might  reveal?  Those  hills,  which  look  so  near,  yet 
are  in  reality  so  inaccessible,  have  whetted  the  curi- 
osity of  many  a  traveler. 

When,  fourteen  years  ago,  the  writer  first  visited 
the  Holy  Land,  he  almost  registered  the  vow  that, 
sometime  or  other,  he  would  make  the  attempt  to  ex- 
plore what  then  was  practically  a  sealed  region.     On 

2 


18  THE    LAND    OF   MOAB. 

his  second  vfsit  he  was  only  partially  successful.  His 
first  attempt,  by  the  southern  route,  was  baffled  by 
the  feuds  of  the  Arab  tribes,  and  a  later  effort  from 
the  north  enabled  him  only  to  touch  the  fringe  of  the 
country,  as  far  as  Heshbon  and  Nebo. 

At  length  the  discovery  of  the  famous  Moabite 
Stone  drew  more  attention  to  the  exploration  of  Moab 
than  the  country  had  hitherto  received.  Dr.  Porter 
had  only  ventured  to  hint  that  research  among  its 
bleak  highlands  and  lawless  tribes  might  reward  the 
adventurous  explorer;  but  the  almost  accidental  dis- 
covery of  the  monolith  was  a  pledge  that  the  antiqui- 
ties of  Moab  must  certainly  repay  investigation. 

Accordingly,  after  Professor  Palmer  and  Mr.  Tyr- 
whitt  Drake  had,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Palestine 
Exploration  Fund,  completed  their  daring  and  peril- 
ous examination  of  the  desert  of  the  Tih,  they  con- 
tinued their  researches,  in  the  spring  and  summer  of 
1870,  into  the  Laud  of  Moab,  from  the  nortliern  bor- 
der of  Edom,  or  Petra.  Their  attention  was  chiefly 
directed  to  the  search  after  Phoenician  inscriptions. 
Owing  partly  to  the  lateness  of  the  season  and  the 
extreme  heat  of  the  weather,  and  partly  to  difficulties 
among  the  tribes,  they  did  not  attempt  to  examine 
the  highlands  south  of  the  Arnon,  the  true  country 
of  the  ancient  Moabites,  and  never  included  in  the  al- 
lotment of  Israel;  but  skirting  the  coast  of  the  Dead 
Sea  till  they  passed  the  shoulder  of  the  peninsula  of 
the  Lisan,  they  then  turned  up  the  country  under  the 
protection  of  tlie  Hamideh,  crossed  the  ravine  of  the 


PREVIOUS   EXPEDITIONS.  19 

Arno  at  the  usual  spot,  and  made  a  bold  dash  east- 
ward, as  far  as  Um  Rasas.  Then  returning  hastily, 
they  made  their  way  to  the  low-lying  fertile  plain  of 
the  Seisaban,  at  the  north-east  end  of  the  Dead  Sea, 
where  they  crossed  the  Jordan  and  re-entered  west- 
ern Palestine.  This  journey  was  comparatively  bar- 
ren of  results,  though  it  added  something  to  our  topo- 
graphical knowledge.  Professor  Palmer  reported  his 
sojburn  in  Moab  expensive  and  unsatisfactory.  He 
examined  every  known  "  written  stone"  in  the  coun- 
try, and  the  conclusion  at  last  forced  itself  upon  him 
that,  above  ground  at  least,  there  does  not  exist  an- 
other Moabitish  stone. 

Still  it  was  felt  that,  apart  from  the  question  of  in- 
scriptions, a  careful  survey  might  probably  add  much 
to  our  topographical  knowledge,  and  at  least  decide 
the  position  of  many  ancient  sites  marked  at  random 
on  the  present  maps. 

The  British  Association,  at  its  meeting  in  Edin- 
burgh in  1871,  renewed  a  former  grant  of  £100,  and 
doubled  it,  appointing  a  committee  "for  the  purpose 
of  undertaking  a  geographical  exploration  of  the  coun- 
try of  Moab."  Stimulated  by  this  grant,  an  expedi- 
tion was  organized  in  the  autumn  of  1871,  which 
sailed  from  England  on  the  10th  January,  1872,  via 
Brindisi  and  Alexandria,  and  landed  at  Jaffa,  Janu- 
ary 22d.  The  party  was  ably  re-enforced  by  Mr. 
C.  Louis  Buxton,  Trinity  College,  Cambridge,  whose 
camera  illustrated  the  results  of  the  expedition  with 
about  eighty  excellent  photographs,  and  whose  gun 


20  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

did  good  service ;  Mr.  E.  C.  Johnson,  of  Liverpool,  ex- 
perienced as  astronomer,  surveyor,  and  photographer, 
to  whose  camera  we  are  also  indebted  for  upward 
of  one  hundred  admirable  stereoscopic  views,  and  to 
whom  I  owe  almost  the  whole  of  the  map  which  ac- 
companies this  journal ;  Mr.  W.  A.  Hayne,  Trinity 
College,  Cambridge,  our  indefatigable  botanist,  who 
has  supplied  the  chapter  on  the  Botany  of  Moab; 
and  Mr.  Mowbray  Trotter,  Trinity  College,  Cam- 
bridge, to  whose  prowess  we  were  indebted  for  many 
a  meal.  At  Jerusalem  we  were  joined  by  our  inval- 
uable friend  Mr.  Klein. 

Negotiations  had  been  carried  on,  through  the  kind 
assistance  of  the  Rev.  F.  A.  Klein,  Church  Missionary 
Society's  representative  at  Jerusalem,  with  the  sheiks 
of  the  transjordanic  tribes,  before  our  arrival,  and 
especially  with  Fendi  y  Faiz,  the  sheik  of  the  Beni 
Sakk'r;  but  his  son.  Sheik  Zadam,  on  whose  escort 
the  party  relied  for  the  north  of  Moab,  did  not  arrive 
during  our  detention  of  a  few  days  at  Jerusalem. 
The  Adwan,  who  claim  the  exclusive  convoy  of  trav- 
elers north  of  Heshbon,  but  whose  inability  to  intro- 
duce any  one  into  the  Highlands  of  Moab  I  had  ex- 
perienced in  my  former  journey,  having  heard  of  our 
plans,  sent  us  a  very  polite  letter  expressing  their 
anxiety  to  see  their  old  friend  again,  denouncing  the 
treachery  of  the  Beni  Sakk'r;  and  wound  up  with 
the  assurance  that  if  they  caught  Zadam  attempting 
to  cross  the  Jordan  to  meet  us,  his  blood  should  flow 
for  the  trespass.     We  were  not  a  little  amused  after- 


ARAB   NEGOTIATIONS.  21 

ward  to  find  that  while  indulging  in  those  grandil- 
oquent threats,  Sheik  Goblan  was  actually  negotia- 
ting a  matrimonial  alliance  between  his  daughter  and 
the  son  of  his  rival,  a  scheme  prompted,  as  we  were 
gravely  assured,  far  more  by  personal  admiration  than 
by  the  contingent  prospect  of  political  advantages. 

We  replied  politely,  by  a  special  messenger  to  our 
friends  of  the  Adwan,  that  we  intended  to  enter  the 
country  not  by  the  north,  through  their  territory,  but 
from  the  south  ;  that  our  intention  was  merely  to  meet 
the  Beni  Sakk'r  near  Kerak;  and  that  we  should 
with  pleasure  call  at  the  Adwan's  encampments  in 
the  spring. 

But  still,  to  go  round  by  the  south  end  of  the  Dead 
Sea  demanded  an  escort.  Messengers  were  dispatched 
to  find  the  sheik,  either  of  the  Ta'amirah  or  the  Je- 
halin,  the  tribes  who  claim  the  suzerainty  of  the  dis- 
trict west  of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  waiting  their  arrival 
various  preparations  had  to  be  made.  Through  Mr. 
Klein's  aid,  dragoman,  servants,  horses,  and  mules  had 
been  provisionally  engaged  ;  but  these  had  to  be  seen 
and  tried,  and  many  a  trick  was  attempted,  both  with 
regard  to  bipeds  and  quadrupeds.  Groceries  and  pro- 
visions of  every  kind  had  to  be  be  laid  in  for  two 
months,  since  Moab  itself  is  absolutely  destitute  of 
supplies,  even  of  corn,  and  only  kid  and  game  could 
be  counted  on  as  procurable,  on  the  spot.  We  were 
not  quite  prepared  to  follow  the  advice  of  a  would-be 
explorer,  whose  experience  had  never  gone  beyond 
his  study  or  a  railway  station,  and  who  suggested  that 


22  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

we  were  needlessly  encumbering  ourselves,  for  that 
sugar,  coffee,  and  rice  might  be  procured  more  easily 
in  the  villages  of  Moab ! 

At  length,  after  a  delay  of  three  days,  a  delegate 
from  the  Ta'amirah  presented  himself,  and  volunteered 
a  guard  of  his  tribe  round  the  south  end  of  the  Dead 
Sea.  The  contract  was  drawn  out  and  approved  at 
the  consulate;  but  we  waited  in  vain  for  the  sheik 
to  put  in  his  appearance  and  seal  it,  arid  on  the  29th 
January  we  started  for  Hebron  free  from  the  annoy- 
ance of  an  escort.  In  a  safe  country  like  that  between 
Jerusalem  and  the  south  end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  any 
company  more  troublesome  than  that  of  a  backsheesh- 
craving  escort,  such  as  those  corrupted  by  intercourse 
with  Europeans,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive.  You 
halt  for  a  moment  to  examine  some  desolate  heap, 
and  the  ragged  crowd  surround  you,  jabbering  and 
producing  pieces  of  pottery  or  smooth  pebbles,  and 
demanding  backsheesh  as  for  some  newly-discovered 
treasure.  You  turn  aside  after  a  covey  of  wild  par- 
tridges' running  up  the  hill,  and  your  nimble  guard 
rushes  wildly  in  front,  yelling  and  shrieking,  and  puts 
up  the  birds  far  out  of  shot.  You  are  attracted  by 
some  bright  flower  in  a  cranny,  and  before  you  can 
dismount,  your  Arabs,  ever  alert  at  the  wrong  time, 
have  cropped  the  petals,  and  hand  you  the  fragments 
of  the  plant,  amazed  at  your  want  of  gratitude  as  you 
despairingly  throw  down  the  worthless  handful. 

At  the  very  moment  of  starting  we  narrowly  es- 
caped another  vexatious  delay.     The  animals  of  our 


AKAB    CHICANKRY.  23 

convoy  belonged  to  various  owners,  who  accompany 
their  property,  and  at  the  last  moment  our  best  i-iding 
horses  and  their  masters  were  missing.  We  soon  dis- 
covered that  our  chief  muleteer  had  been  suddenly 
pounced  upon  by  the  soldiers,  and  taken  to  prison  for 
an  alleged  debt.  The  creditor  had  taken  no  steps  to 
enforce  his  claim  until  the  last  moment,  when,  astute- 
ly guessing  that  we  would  not  willingly  be  detained, 
but  would  rather  pay  ourselves  than  incur  further 
loss  of  time,  he  had  timed  his  arrest  as  cleverly  as 
though  be  had  been  a  Whitby  electioneerer.  Off  I 
had  to  tramp  to  the  consulate  at  the  other  end  of  Je- 
rusalem, whence,  fortified  by  a  letter  from  the  consul, 
and  the  company  of  a  cavass  in  full  accoutrements, 
I  proceeded  to  the  Cadi,  showed  that  the  debt  was 
disputed,  and  having  signed  a  bond  that  I  would  not 
pay  the  man  his  wages  until  the  case  was  decided, 
presented  myself  at  the  prison,  the  doors  of  which  at 
once  opened  and  the  man  was  set  free.  The  matter 
in  litigation  proved  to  be  a  case  of  horse  warranty,  as 
perplexing  to  a  Turkish  Cadi  as  to  an  English  jury, 
and  eventually  nothing  came  of  it. 

Unlike  the  road  to  Jaffa,  that  to  Bethlehem  has 
undergone  no  improvement  of  late  years;  nor  has 
the  extension  of  suburb,  so  marked  on  the  former 
road,  extended  to  the  southward  of  Jerusalem.  A 
Bethlehem  Christian  Bedouin,  who  had  attached  him- 
self to  us  as  a  sort  of  intermediator  in  various  nego- 
tiations, was  our  companion,  and  we  cantered  onward 
to  Bethlehem,  only  drawing  rein  for  a  short  time  to 


24  THE   LAND    OF   ilOAB. 

pause  at  Rachel's  tomb.  We  could  not  pass  Bethle- 
hem without  revisiting  the  grand  old  Church  of  the 
Nativity,  the  shrine,  the  so-called  manger,  St.  Jerome's 
cell  and  shrine.  Every  thing  we  found  in  much  bet- 
ter repair  than  eight  years  ago,  chiefly  owing  to  lib- 
eral Russian  expenditure.  The  Church  Missionary 
Schools  have  been  abandoned,  and  handed  over  to  the 
Berlin  mission,  which  has  a  large  establishment  here. 

After  a  hasty  inspection  of  the  sights,  and  running 
the  gauntlet  of  the  sellers  of  beads  and  scallop  shells, 
and  other  backsheesh-hunters,  more  importunate  in 
Bethlehem  than  anywhere  else,  we  pushed  on  south- 
ward, and  overtook  our  party  at  the  Pools  of  Solo- 
mon, where  they  had  halted.  These  vast  cisterns 
were  not  nearly  so  full  of  water  as  when  I  had  visited 
them  before,  in  the  rainy  season.  The  lower  one  was 
all  but  empty,  revealing  the  perfect  cement  on  its 
sides  and  bottom,  and  the  staircase  by  which,  when 
the  water  was  let  out,  the  workmen  could  descend  to 
repair  the  plaster.  Various  inlets  into  the  pool,  to  re- 
ceive the  drainage  on  either  side,  were  shown,  and  the 
cement  was  all  as  smooth  and  unchipped  as  on  the 
day  when  it  was  laid  on.  The  second  pool,  as  well  as 
the  first,  was  still  full  of  water,  and  a  little  flock  of 
teal  was  paddling  unconcerned  on  its  surface. 

Just  before  descending  the  hill  to  the  Pools,  the 
mounted  chief  of  the  Ta'amirah  suddenly  accosted  us. 
In  vain  we  assured  him  that  an  escort  was  needless, 
that  we  were  well  armed,  and  intended  to  find  the 
Jehalin  south  of  Hebron. 


RIDE   TO   HEBRON.  26 

Our  determination  to  dispense  with  the  services  of 
Falstaff's  ragged  regiment  was  in  vain.  No  sooner 
bad  we  started  from  the  Pools  than  the  wild  fellows 
were  thrown  out  on  all  sides,  and  formed  a  skirmish- 
ing front  all  the  way  to  Hebron.  Even  when  we 
pushed  at  a  canter  across  the  little  plains,  the  foot- 
men, without  an  apparent  effort,  were  always  in  ad- 
vance, and  effectually  precluded  the  chance  of  a  shot 
at  a  partridge,  or  the  sight  of  a  gazelle. 

Well  as  I  knew  the  road,  I  think  the  pleasure  of 
revisiting  these  sacred  scenes,  imprinted  on  the  mem- 
ory, is  more  intense  than  that  of  the  first  sight  as  a 
stranger.  Bethshur,  Halhul,  Eamah  of  Judab,  and 
other  desolate  sites,  sustained  our  interest  as  we  rode 
through  them.  At  Mamre,  by  the  ruins  of  Constan- 
tine's  massive  Basilica,  we  made  a  detour  to  the  right, 
in  order  to  show  to  the  younger  members  of  the  par- 
ty the  great  terebinth-tree,  which  now  does  duty  for 
Abraham's  oak,  long  since  perished.  The  hills  look- 
ed bare  and  bleak  as  a  winter  without  rain  could 
make  them,  for  the  spring  flowers  had  not  yet  begun 
to  show ;  but  the  last  two  miles  of  our  road  led  us 
by  narrow  paths  through  vineyards  with  their  vines 
carefully  trained,  each  fenced  with  a  low  stone  wall 
surrounding  it ;  and  in  many  of  them  the  watch-tow- 
er often  referred  to  in  Scripture,  at  the  upper  end,  a 
heap  of  brush-wood  on  the  top  of  it,  the  bedding  of 
the  sentry  during  the  grape  season.  Near  the  wick- 
et-gates we  might  see  the  ass  that  was  to  carry  the 


26  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

laborer  home,  tied  up  to  a  vine,  "  Binding  his  ass's 
colt  unto  the  choice  vine." 

We  had  passed  our  convoy  of  mules  some  miles 
before,  and  it  was  dark  before  they  arrived  at  the 
camping-ground.  Now  the  inexperienced  critic  who 
remonstrates  at  the  number  of  followers  in  an  Eastern 
journey  might  find  the  use  of  having  twenty  men  to 
picket,  set  up  tents,  and  prepare  for  the  night.  It  was 
past  eight  o'clock  before  we  sat  down,  under  a  love- 
ly, moonlit  sky,  to  dine.  Picturesque  and  bright  was 
our  first  bivouac ;  to  the  majority  of  the  party,  their 
first  night  under  canvas.  We  dwelt  among  the 
tombs  in  the  Moslem  cemetery,  on  the  slope  rising  to 
the  south  of  Hebron.  The  lights  glimmered  fitfully 
among  the  houses  of  the  city  on  the  opposite  slope, 
and  occasional  bursts  of  rough  music  and  firing  of 
guns  told  of  a  marriage  being  celebrated. 

Our  arrival  had  brought  many  new  and  old  ac- 
quaintances around  us.  One  man  constituted  him- 
self water-bearer  to  the  camp  ;  another,  running  mes- 
senger; while  the  governor  politely  sent  a  soldier  to 
offfer  us  a  guard  for  the  night.  We  thanked  his  ex- 
cellency for  his  kind  consideration,  but  assured  his 
envoy  we  were  well  able  to  provide  for  our  own 
safety — a  reply  which  sent  him  back  not  a  little  crest- 
fallen, since  a  guard  meant,  of  course,  a  backsheesh 
suited  for  the  acceptance  of  a  governor.  The  Ta'ami- 
rah  volunteers,  determined  not  to  lose  sight  of  us,  qui- 
etly sat  down  for  the  night  by  our  camp-fire,  with 
their  matchlocks  across  their  knees,  listening  incredu- 


AN   ARAB   ATTORNEY.  27 

lously  to  tlie  assurance  that  we  were  not  their  broth- 
ers, nor  in  their  keeping. 

Among  our  earliest  visitors  was  Sheik  Hamzi,  the 
Arab  lawyer  of  Hebron,  and  who  had  been  my  com- 
panion for  many  weeks  on  my  former  visit,  un- 
changed, save  that  his  beard  was  more  blanched  ;  op- 
pressive in  his  attentions,  and  palpable,  as  of  old,  in 
his  intrigues.  He  did  us  good  service,  however,  and 
sent  at  once  to  the  camp  of  the  Jehalin,  on  the  way 
to  Beersheba,  to  request  the  attendance  of  the  sheik 
Abou  da  Houk,  the  son  and  namesake  of  our  formei- 
guardian,  now  deceased,  to  come  and  make  an  ar- 
rangement with  us  for  an  escort  to  Kerak.  Various 
other  old  companions  in  travel  came  to  claim  acquaint- 
ance. One  after  another,  either  a  great  man  or  his 
henchman,  appeared  at  the  tent  door,  and  sat  down, 
dropping  their  slippers,  and  sometimes  venturing  be- 
yond the  threshold,  in  the  hope  of  a  cup  of  coffee  or 
a  pipe.  It  was  not  easy  to  get  rid  of  our  friends,  and 
midnight  was  approaching,  when  we  were  compelled 
to  call  in  the  aid  of  our  servants  to  tell  them,  what  we 
could  not,  according  to  the  rules  of  politeness,  say  for 
ourselves,  that  we  must  be  left  alone  for  prayers,  and 
to  retire  to  bed.  At  length  we  retired,  with  the  mule- 
bells  tinkling  incessantly,  and  the  horses,  asses,  and 
muleteers,  inside  their  pickets,  mingled  in  a  confused 
circle  round  our  three  tents.  The  night  was  cold 
enough,  with  the  thermometer  at  35°  Fahr. 

The  next  morning  dawned  brightly,  with  Venus 
peeping  down  thi'ough  a  crevice  by  the  tent  door,  and 


28  THE    LAND    OF   MOAB. 

before  dayligbt  all  was  astir,  and  a  crowd  surrounded 
us.  The  day  was  given  to  diplomacy,  and  a  wearj- 
one  it  was.  Scenes,  strange  and  unwonted  to  western 
eyes,  fascinate  everywhere  the  novice  in  Eastern  trav- 
el ;  but  the  various  events  of  this  day  far  exceeded  in 
humor  and  quaintness  the  ordinary  episodes  of  tent 
life.  Hamzi  was  early  afoot,  and  in  the  door-way  be- 
fore we  were  dressed.  Some  new  intrigue  we  were 
quite  sure  to  have  from  the  clever  Arab  attorne}^  and 
money  -  lender,  who  holds  half  the  sheiks  of  Judea 
under  his  thumb.  He  is  very  cautious,  however,  in 
negotiating  about  Moab.  He  remembers  how,  for 
once  in  his  life,  he  was  outwitted  there,  when  accom- 
panying Palmer  and  Drake:  they  had  intrusted  to 
him  all  their  cash  ;  and  the  old  man  had  allowed 
himself  (for  he  is  an  arrant  coward)  to  be  bullied  out 
of  every  piastre  of  it  by  the  Moabite  Bedouin,  and  af- 
terward had  to  refund.  He  came  now  to  recommend 
the  Ta'amirah  as  joint  guides  with  the  Jehalin,  which 
meant  double  backsheesh  from  us,  and  a  liberal  per- 
centage on  both  for  himself;  but,  in  spite  of  his  op- 
pressive politeness,  I  was  stupid,  and  Mr.  Klein  im- 
perturbable. 

After  breakfast  we  set  out  with  a  Moslem  Hebron- 
ite  to  visit  the  outside  of  Machpelah,  and  the  other  li- 
ons of  the  place.  There  has  certainly  been  a  marvel- 
ous improvement  in  the  manners  of  Hebron  since  our 
last  visit.  The  visits  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  and  of 
Mr.  Fergusson,  and  their  admission  within  the  very 
sacred  building  itself  without  any  heaven-sent  calami- 


A  JEWISH   INTERIOR.  29 

ty  as  the  result  of  the  profanation,  have,  perhaps, 
checked  fanaticism  ;  but  at  least  they  have  found  that 
Europeans  are  profitable  visitors.  We  were  admitted 
a  few  steps  up  the  mosque  stairs,  and  this  without  any 
of  the  scowls  and  curses  which  met  me  on  my  for- 
mer visit.  We  were  afterward  very  civilly  conducted 
round  the  outer  walls,  made  their  circuit,  and  on  the 
high  ground  on  the  north  side  were  allowed  to  get  on 
to  the  roof  of  a  side  chapel,  and  to  peer  through  an 
opening  in  the  dome  into  the  mosque  below,  where 
we  could  only  see  one  tomb,  with  a  lamp  suspended 
over  it. 

Wandering  afterward  in  the  bazar,  we  invested  in 
some  jars  of  native  quince  jam,  and  were  accosted  by 
a  Jew,  who  offered  us  wine  for  sale,  and  invited  us  to 
his  house,  curiously  concealed,  up  alleys  and  dark  en- 
tries. Eude,  but  scrupulously  clean,  was  the  menage. 
The  upper  part  of  the  large  room,  which  formed  the 
dwelling,  was  raised  five  steps  above  the  rest,  and  here 
we  were  entertained.  The  host's  fair  wife,  for  the 
family  were  Russian  Jews,  spread  a  clean  white  table- 
cloth, and  produced  glasses  and  a  bottle  of  wine.  The 
only  more  private  part  of  the  house  was  a  portion 
above  the  dais,  partially  partitioned  off,  where  sat  the 
daughter,  a  pretty  Jewess,  at  her  needle -work,  and 
showing  by  her  glances  her  interest  and  curiosity. 

When  we  had  completed  our  purchase  of  excellent 
wine  of  Eshcol,  and  returned  to  our  tents,  another 
diplomatic  scene  occurred.  Abou  da  Houk  and  some 
Jehalin  had  arrived  ;  but  the  Ta'amirah  spearmen  still 


30  THE    LAND   OF    MOAB. 

sat  impassive  round  our  camp,  in  silent  array,  loath 
to  lose  the  charge  of  such  golden  travelers.  Stern- 
ly Mr.  Klein  told  them  they  were  not  engaged ;  still 
they  sat  imperturbable  and  motionless.  The  sun  was 
shining  brightly,  and,  without  their  knowledge,  some 
capital  photographs  of  the  groups  were  secured. 

Later  in  the  day  we  attempted  a  walk  toward  De- 
bir  and  the  "Upper  and  Nether  Springs"  (Judg.  i,, 
15),  but  after  some  hours  were  fain  to  hurry  back  on 
the  threatening  appearance  of  the  sky,  the  wind  hav- 
ing gone  round  to  the  west,  and  clouds  rapidlj'-  bank- 
ing up.  We  had  scarcely  returned  before  we  had  to 
encounter  one  of  the  least  agreeable  experiences  of 
tent  life,  in  a  storm  of  wind  and  rain  such  as  southern 
latitudes  only  know.  Every  thing  was  made  snug 
and  taut  as  speedily  as  possible;  trenches  dug  round 
the  tents,  boxes  piled  one  on  another  under  canvas, 
mules  and  horses,  with  corn-sacks  and  chaff,  hastily 
hurried  off  to  the  shelter  of  the  khan ;  but  still  the 
motley  crowd  of  Hebronites  hung  around  us,  wet  to 
the  skin,  but  with  curiosity  not  yet  damped. 

Intrigue  meantime  had  been  hard  at  work.  We 
had  offered  Abou  da  Houk  2500  piastres  to  take  us 
safe  to  Kerak.  He  felt  inclined  to  accept  it,  but  the 
Hebron  Bismarck,  Hamzi,  withdrew  him,  and  got  him 
into  conference  with  the  Ta'amirah  sheik. 

He  soon  returns  with  Hamzi  and  the  others,  says  it 
must  be  £50  (6000  piastres);  Mr.  Klein  throws  back 
his  hands  in  horror;  Daoud,  our  head  man,  vocifer- 
ates his  orders  to  the  muleteers  to  pack  up  for  Jerusa- 


DIPLOMATIC    DIFFICULTIES.  31 

lem.  Hamzi  turns  affectionately  to  kiss  me;  I  stern- 
ly turn  aside,  and  will  not  even  look  at  bira,  as  I  sit 
on  my  bedding.  Another  sederunt  of  the  groups 
aside,  under  the  lee  of  another  tent,  though  it  is  now 
pouring  with  rain.  At  length  they  come  back  and 
announce  to  Mr.  Klein  "^a?/i6,"  "very  well,"  without 
the  slightest  movement  of  a  muscle.  He  quietly  raises 
his  head  from  his  book,  and  asks  for  the  seal  of  the 
sheik,  which  is  handed  to  him. 

Daoud,  meantime,  has  been  playing  his  little  game, 
telling  the  Jehalin  that  if  they  get  a  high  price,  he,  as 
dragoman,  must  tax  it  for  his  share;  but  if  they  ac- 
cept a  smaller  sum,  he  should  let  them  oft",  and  look  to 
us  for  his  percentage.  But  Abou  da  Houk  has  taken 
fright  at  the  threat  that  we  should  cross  the  Jordan 
by  the  north  route,  and  so  save  him  all  further  trouble. 
Knowing  the  fickleness  of  the  Arab  mind,  Mr.  Klein 
had  demanded  his  seal  as  a  pledge  till  the  contract 
could  be  drawn  up.  The  other  chiefs  of  the  Jehalin 
also  draw  their  rings  from  their  fingers,  in  obedience 
to  his  example. 

At  once  a  messenger  is  dispatched  for  a  professional 
scribe,  and  a  sheet  of  paper  duly  stamped  with  the  im- 
perial monogram,  on  which  the  important  deed  is  to 
be  drawn  ;  for  even  the  Turks  have  learned  the  value 
of  stamp  duties  to  the  exchequer.  The  pair  (Abou 
and  his  uncle  Selameh)  retire,  meanwhile,  to  take 
counsel  with  Hamzi,  and  return  to  say  they  repent  of 
their  bargain,  and  must  have  1200  piastres  additional. 
But  the  crafty  Hamzi  has  outwitted  himself,  and  Mr. 


32  THE    LAND   OF    MOAB. 

Klein  is  large  in  indignation,  and  firmly  refuses  to 
surrender  the  pledged  seals.  They  grumble,  but  re- 
main seated  in  the  tent  door-way.  The  scribe  soon 
arrives — an  intelligent,  pleasant-looking,  well-dressed 
Turk — drops  his  red  shoes,  and  seats  himself  just  in- 
side the  tent,  with  his  inkhorn  and  reed-pen.  We  are 
all  inside,  sitting  on  the  carpets  in  a  circle  round  the 
walls,  Mr.  Klein  alone  on  a  camp-stool  in  front,  while 
the  other  high  contracting  parties  sit  unconcernedly 
under  their  hoods  outside.  Daoud,  standing  behind 
the  scribe,  keenly  watches  every  word  as  he  writes  it 
down  on  the  paper  spread  on  his  knee.  The  Jehalin 
outside  look,  under  the  rain,  their  wildest  and  their 
dirtiest,  and  most  uncomfortable  ruffians  to  meet  in 
an  unfriendly  way.  Hamzi,  cunning  and  well-dressed 
as  ever,  has  by  his  side  the  disappointed  Ta'amirah 
sheik.  Every  word  of  the  contract  is  discussed  and 
pertinaciously  wrangled  over,  the  young  sheik  alone 
feeling  it  dignified  to  maintain  silence.  Hamzi  perti- 
naciously suggests  amendments,  which  Mr.  Klein  as 
determinedly  resists.  Finally,  the  document  is  finish- 
ed ;  but  meantime  the  sun  has  set  in  a  lurid  glare,  and 
a  tremendous  thunder-storm  bursts  forth.  It  is  by  the 
light  of  the  incessant  flashes  that  the  last  sentences 
are  written ;  but  the  imperturbable  Arabs  move  not. 
And  now  for  the  sealing.  Mr.  Klein  hands  the  rings 
to  Daoud,  who  carefully  moistens  them  in  the  ink- 
horn,  and  applies  them  to  the  paper.  One  of  the 
chiefs  has  forgotten  his  seal ;  so  Daoud  takes  the 
man's  forefinger,  wets  it  in  the  inkhorn,  and  gravely 


AN   ARAB   CONTRACT.  33 

presses  it  on  the  document.  Then  come  the  attesting 
witnesses,  and  finally,  during  a  terrific  peal  of  thun- 
der, the  final  solemn  words  are  added,  "God  is  the 
best  witness."  Then  come  appeals  for  backsheesh, 
food,  and  other  customary  encroachments  on  the  strict 
letter.  We  finally  conclude  a  codicil  that  a  sum  of 
250  piastres  is  to  be  paid  by  us  to  the  sheik  of  the 
Beni  Atiyeh,  a  tribe  of  very  bad  repute,  said  to  be  on 
a  marauding  expedition  from  the  frontiers  of  Egypt, 
in  the  south,  in  case  we,  unfortunately,  fall  in  with 
them  in  the  Ghor  es  Safieh ;  and  it  is  understood  we 
start  in  the  morning  for  Engedi.  And  now  we  think 
we  see  our  way  clear  to  Moab. 

After  agreeing  on  the  contract,  some  amusing  pre- 
cautions had  to  be  taken.  Half  the  money  was  to  be 
paid  in  advance;  and  before  the  solemn  sealing  the 
napoleons  were  delivered  by  me  to  our  dragoman, 
counted  out  by  him,  then  placed,  one  by  one,  by  him 
in  the  palm  of  Abou  da  Houk,  while  our  representa- 
tive held  the  said  palm  open,  and  then  turned  the 
gold  pieces  on  to  the  ground,  in  the  centre  of  the  cir- 
cle, where  they  had  to  remain  till  all  was  completed. 

The  storm  cleared  before  sunrise,  and,  after  dis- 
patching a  crowd  of  medical  consultees,  we  could 
enjoy  a  bath,  al  fresco^  in  the  pools  left  by  the  last 
night's  rain. 

Our  road  to  Engedi  was  the  next  question.  There 
are  two  known  routes,  one  the  northerly,  joining  the 
track  from  Bethlehem  to  Tekoa,  Wolcott's  route ;  the 
other,  taken  by  Robinson  and  Smith,  going  south  to 

3 


34  THE   LAND    OF    MOAB. 

Kurmul  (Carmel)  and  Maon,  and  thence  turning  due 
east.  Finding  the  district  between  these  two  a  blank 
on  the  maps,  we  determined  to  try  to  cut  across  this 
wilderness.  All  declared  there  was  no  such  road; 
but  we  determined  to  make  one;  and  our  muleteers 
and  guides  at  length  gave  way. 


A    ROUGH   ROUTE.  35 


CHAPTER  II. 

Route  from  Hebron  to  Eiigedi.—  Yakin.— Forest  of  Ziph.— Kirbet 
Zadoud.— Ka'abineh  Camp.— Hospitality.— Arab  Coffee.— Unex- 
pected Flood  in  the  Night.— Effect  of  sudden  Rains.— Change  of 
Flora.— Wady  el  Ghar.— El  Husasah,  Hazziz.—CViffoiZh.— Steep 
Pass. — Descent  to  Engedi. — Rich  Botany.— Rashayideh  Arabs.— 
A  Bedouin  Fantasia.— Ornithology  of  Engedi.— Camp  under  Seb- 
beh  (Masada)  Wady  Seyal.— Lifeless  Desolation.— Wady  Makhe- 
j-as.— Visit  to  the  Fortress  of  Masada. — Ancient  Jewish  Syna- 
gogue.—  Contrast  with  the  Synagogues  of  Galilee. — Acoustic  Phe- 
nomenon.—  Remarkable  Aurora. —  Route  to  Jebel  Usdum. — Ford 
to  the  Lisan. — View  of  Mount  Hor. —  Curious  Arab  Custom. — 
Oasis  of  Zuweirah. — Lateness  of  the  Season. 

At  length  we  quit  Hebron,  and  turn  our  backs  on 
the  outskirts  of  civilization.  We  found  our  new  route 
perfectly  practicable,  though  very  rough,  and  without 
much  to  interest.  The  first  part  of  it  lay  across  the 
wilderness  of  Ziph.  The  ground  was  very  hilly,  with 
narrow  valleys  of  rich  loam,  which  were  all  rudely 
cultivated  for  wheat,  without  fences.  These  open 
fields  are  the  property  partly  of  the  Hebronites,  but 
chiefly  of  the  Ta'amirah,  who,  with  a  ready  market 
at  Jerusalem,  have  begun  to  find  agriculture  profita- 
ble, and  are  condescending  to  till  the  soil.  We  left 
Kurmul  on  our  right,  near  enough  to  reconnoitre  its 
fine  old  castle  through  our  glasses.  On  the  left  we 
saw,  here  and  there  in  the  distance,  a  few  straggling 
trees,  lonely  witnesses  of  the  forest  that  once  existed 


36  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

there,  and  continued  as  late  as  the  time  of  the  cru- 
sades. Here  and  there  a  covey  of  rock-partridges  ran 
up  the  rugged  sides  of  the  hills  ;  and  twice  we  espied 
gazelle  browsing  on  the  young  wheat  in  the  valleys. 
The  sportsmen  were  at  once  in  pursuit ;  but  we  were 
not  destined  to  have  venison  for  supper  that  night. 

After  leaving  the  remains  of  Yakhi,  none  of  the 
places,  or  rather  sites  and  desolate  heaps,  which  we 
passed  are  marked  in  any  of  the  maps,  and  only  one 
wady,  Wady  el  Ghdr.  We  proceeded  nearly  due  east, 
sighting  Beni  Nahtr  on  our  left,  to  the  north,  where 
were  a  few  scattered  trees,  and  visiting  the  castle  call- 
ed Kirhet  Yakin^  a  curious  ruin,  with  a  cistern,  and  a 
well  long  since  dry.  Within  was  a  sort  of  square  in- 
ner chamber,  over  the  door-way  of  which  was  let  in 
an  old  quoin,  on  which  was  cut  an  Arabic  inscription. 

On  this  spot  we  found  ourselves  exactly  on  the 
water-shed  of  the  Mediterranean  and  Dead  seas;  and 
now  ended  all  cultivation  in  the  bottoms  of  the  wadys, 
and  the  traces  of  the  olden  terraces  which  had  hith- 
erto uninterruptedly  furrowed  their  sides.  We  had 
entered  the  true  wilderness.  How  far  the  forest  of 
Ziph  extended  it  is  not  easy  to  say ;  but  there  are 
traces  of  it  in  an  occasional  tree;  and  there  seems  no 
reason,  from  the  nature  of  the  soil,  why  the  woods 
may  not  have  stretched  nearly  to  the  barren  sandy 
marl  which  overlies  the  limestone  for  a  few  miles 
west  of  the  Dead  Sea. 

We  passed  but  few  ruins — Um  Halassah,  nothing 
more  than  a  small  village,  and  Kirbet  Zadoud.     Up 


ARAB   HOSPITALITY.  37 

and  down  the  bare,  rocky  bills  we  passed,  till,  just  be- 
fore sunset,  in  a  little  grassy  hollow,  we  came,  much 
to  our  surprise,  on  an  encampment  of  Ka'abineh 
Arabs,  the  tribe  whose  home  is  between  the  south 
end  of  the  Dead  Sea  and  Petra,  and  with  whom  I  re- 
called a  not  very  agreeable  rencontre,  when,  in  my 
former  visit,  we  had  to  capture  several  of  them  as 
they  attempted  to  plunder  our  camp.  Now  all  their 
flocks  and  herds  were  with  them,  and  they  were, 
of  course,  pacifically  disposed.  Here,  therefore,  we  at 
once  determined  to  camp,  on  the  slope  a  few  hun- 
dred yards  above  them.  As  hospitality  demanded, 
we  rode  down  straight  to  the  Ka'abineh  camp.  The 
sheik  was  away,  but  a  head  man  promptly  invited  us 
into  his  tent.  We  dismounted,  left  our  arms  piled 
outside,  and  stooped,  or  rather  almost  crept,  under 
the  black  camel's-hair  roof 

The  description  of  our  entertainment  may  serve  for 
that  of  many  a  subsequent  one  during  our  expedition. 
Picture  a  parallelogram  of  canvas  quite  black,  and 
with  a  roof  only  three  or  four  feet  above  the  ground, 
one  side  turned  lengthways  against  the  wind,  the  oth- 
er opening  into  a  sort  of  square  surrounded  b}^  similar 
abodes,  a  fire  of  broomsticks  in  the  centre,  with  the 
smoke  and  ashes  blowing  into  every  one's  face;  all 
our  party  squatted  on  their  hams,  or  sitting  on  their 
heels  with  spurs  on,  and  their  costumes  diversified  by 
those  of  their  Arab  hosts;  the  tent  full  to  overflow- 
ing. An  ancient  in  the  centre  holds  a  little  flat  pan 
with  coffee  berries  over  the  flame,  and  stirs  them  with 


38  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

a  Stick,  then  with  great  care  pounds  the  roasted  cof- 
fee in  a  mortar,  turns  it  with  his  hand  into  a  little 
tin  pot  of  boiling  water;  then  letting  it  simmer  for  a 
minute  or  two,  turns  it  over  into  a  second,  and  lets 
that  simmer  in  turn,  and  when  it  threatens  to  boil 
over,  pours  the  beverage  into  three  handleless,  saucer- 
less  blue  china  cups,  which  form  the  company  store 
of  the  household.  He  carefully  inquires  from  an 
Arabic-speaking  howadji  which  is  the  sheik  of  the 
party,  sips  his  cup  to  show  that  its  contents  are  not 
of  a  baneful  nature,  and  then  courteously  hands  it 
and  its  fellows  to  the  chief  guests;  the  rank  and  file 
being  supplied  in  their  turn  as  the  cups  become  emp- 
ty. Dusk  is  falling  on  us,  and  the  little  fire  sends  up 
light  as  well  as  warmth  from  its  grateful  embers,  as 
we  sit  on,  and  gather,  through  our  dragoman,  some 
stories  of  the  adventures  and  wanderings  of  our  hosts 
from  Petra,  their  original  home. 

As  we  left  the  Ka'abineh  camp,  a  return  visit  was 
invited  and  promptly  promised,  with  the  hint  that  a 
little  raw  coffee  would  be  an  acceptable  present.  A 
more  truly  pastoral  scene  can  scarcely  be  imagined 
than  the  trooping  home  of  the  sheep,  goats,  and  a  few 
camels  from  the  hills  at  night-fall.  Our  camps  were 
snugly  ensconced  in  a  sort  of  basin,  toward  which  the 
hills  gently  sloped  on  all  sides.  From  every  side  the 
flocks  appeared,  almost  simultaneously,  led  by  the 
shepherd,  often  a  little  boy;  the  goats  and  sheep, 
generally  in  parallel  lines,  gamboling  after  him  as  he 
sang  an  Arab  stave,  and  the  proud  bell-wethers  keep- 


EFFECT   OF  SUDDEN   RAINS.  39 

ing  close  to  his  heels,  making  music  from  their  tink- 
ling necks. 

The  rain,  which  had  considerately  kept  oflf  all  day, 
made  up  for  its  complaisance  at  night.  With  a  sim- 
plicity not  very  creditable  to  experienced  camp-men, 
we  had  neglected  the  trenching  of  our  tents.  The 
whole  slope  on  which  we  had  pitched  became  a  shal- 
low stream,  and  we  awoke  before  day-break  to  find  a 
river  flowing  through  the  camp,  over  and  under  our 
water-proofs  indiscriminately. 

Camp-moving  in  the  rain  is  a  dreary  business;  but 
it  had  to  be  done ;  and  the  party  had  a  stock  of  good- 
humor  and  readiness  to  enjoy  every  thing,  from  coffee 
and  stale  brown  bread,  in  the  open,  for  breakfast,  to 
the  minor  amusements  of  horse-catching  and  vain  ef- 
forts with  wet  guns. 

It  rained  for  the  greater  part  of  the  day,  lifting 
occasionally,  but  never  sufficiently  to  show  the  sky. 
At  least  we  had  the  fortune  to  see  what  can  have 
fallen  to  the  lot  of  but  few  European  travelers — the 
bare  rugged  hill-sides  and  the  deep  ravines  of  the 
wilderness  of  Judah  covered  with  torrents,  and  roll- 
ing down  tiny  cascades  from  every  rock,  while  each 
valley  was  a  pool  of  water.  The  tremendous  force 
of  sudden  rain  on  a  thirsty,  stony  soil  was  well  ex- 
emplified ;  and  the  rapidity  with  which  the  loosened 
stones  and  large  fragments  of  rock,  split  by  the  com- 
bined action  of  sun  and  water,  were  hurried  down 
the  tiny  glens  scooped  out  many  a  channel,  and  gath- 
ered ever-increasino-  masses  of  debris  in  the  course  of 


40  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

the  torrents.  So  easily  disintegrated  is  the  soft  lime- 
stone of  these  wadys,  that  the  rain  of  a  few  hours, 
probably  the  first  heavy  down-pour  since  last  winter, 
did  more  to  deepen  and  widen  the  channels  than  the 
storms  of  several  years  could  effect  on  a  Northum- 
brian hill-side.  No  geologist  could  watch  the  efiect 
of  this  storm  without  being  convinced  that,  in  calcu- 
lating the  progress  of  denudation,  other  factors  than 
that  of  time  must  be  taken  into  account,  and  that 
denudation  may  proceed  most  rapidly  where  rains 
are  most  uncertain. 

The  gradual  change  of  the  flora  is  worthy  of  notice. 
From  the  moment  of  our  crossing  this  water-shed  the 
vegetable  mold,  which  more  or  less  scantily  covers 
the  country  on  the  Mediterranean  side,  disappears — 
perhaps  because  this  soil  is  due  to  the  primeval  forest, 
while  the  forest  did  not  extend  eastward  of  the  crest. 
This  I  merely  throw  out  as  a  conjecture ;  but  though 
vegetation  instantly  becomes  more  sparse,  it  only 
gradually  changes  its  character,  until,  by  the  time  we 
have  reached  the  crest  of  the  cliffs  overhanging  En- 
gedi,  there  is  scarce  a  plant  identical  with  those  of 
the  neighborhood  of  Hebron ;  and  though  the  alti- 
tude has  not  diminished  more  than  1000  feet,  the 
flora  is  strictly  of  the  desert  type,  such  as  is  found 
south  of  Beersheba,  and  in  the  Ti'h. 

During  our  ride  we  crossed  and  followed  for  a  short 
time  the  wadys  Aboul  Hayad  and  Mudabab-flakk'r, 
neither  of  which  are  laid  down  in  the  maps,  and  both 
of  them  insignificant  ravines ;  then  the  Wady  el  Ghar. 


CLIFF   OF   ZIZ.  41 

which  is  very  deep  and  rugged,  certainly  the  most 
important  in  the  drainage  of  the  district. 

Finally  we  crossed  the  Wady  Dal'al,  not  marked 
in  the  maps,  a  feeder  of  the  Wady  Sudeir  from  the 
south-west,  and  soon  reached  the  top  of  the  pass 
down  to  Engedi,  riding  across  a  piece  of  table-land 
called  El  Husasah  —  i.  e.,  Haz-ziz  —  the  cliff  of  Ziz 
(2  Chron.  xx.,  16).  Our  ride  must  have  been  across 
the  wilderness  of  Jeruel  {id),  of  which  name  we 
caught  no  trace  in  the  Bedouin  nomenclature ;  and 
some  one  of  those  desolate  heaps,  now  nameless, 
which  we  passed  before  reaching  it  must  have  been 
^'the  watch-tower  in  the  wilderness"  (2  Chron.  xx.,  24) 
from  which  the  invasion  of  the  hordes  of  marauders 
from  the  south  was  signaled. 

This  pass  and  cliff  of  Ziz  seems  to  have  been,  even 
from  the  days  of  Chedorlaomer  and  Abraham,  the 
one  ascent  by  which  invaders  from  the  south  and 
east,  after  doubling  the  south  end  of  the  Dead  Sea, 
entered  the  hill  country  of  Judea.  Up  to  Engedi 
they  could  march  without  interruption,  by  the  shores 
of  the  sea  below ;  and  though  there  are  several  open- 
ings south  of  Engedi  by  which  troops  could  easily 
make  the  ascent  into  the  upper  country,  yet  any  of 
them  would  necessitate  a  long  march  across  a  rough 
and  almost  waterless  wilderness.  Practically,  then, 
Ziz  was  the  key  of  the  pass.  To  the  north  of  it 
the  shore  line  is  impracticable  even  for  footmen,  and 
there  are  no  paths  by  which  beasts  could  be  led  up. 
Hence  the  old  importance  of  Hazazon-tamar,  or  En- 


42  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB, 

gedi,  which  is  still  the  route  by  which  the  trade  be- 
tween Jerusalem  and  Kerak  is  carried  on,  and  by 
which  the  former  city  obtains  its  supplies  of  salt. 

The  clouds  lifted  just  as  we  reached  the  crest,  and 
we  looked  down  on  the  grand  panorama  of  the  sea, 
and  the  line  of  the  Moab  mountains  beyond ;  while 
the  steam  rose  up  from  the  oasis  of  Engedi  at  our 
feet,  literally  smoking  from  the  unwonted  moisture. 
At  the  risk  of  being  accused  of  suffering  from  "Holy 
Land  on  the  brain,"  by  those  who  can  only  measure 
grandeur  by  bigness,  and  who  can  see  nothing  to 
enjoy  in  Hermon  or  Lebanon  because  they  are  only 
10,000  feet  high  and  do  not  reach  the  Alps  or  the 
Himalayas,  I  must  confess  that  few  landscapes  have 
impressed  me  more  than  the  sudden  unfolding  of  the 
Dead  Sea  basin  and  its  eastern  wall  from  the  top  of 
this  pass. 

The  path  is  a  mere  zigzag,  chiefly  artificial,  cut  out 
of  the  side  of  the  precipices,  but  occasionally  aided  by 
nature.  We  dismounted,  and  led  our  horses  careful- 
ly down  the  rugged  and  winding  staircase,  those  who 
were  in  front  inwardly  uneasy  lest  any  of  those  be- 
hind, or  rather  above  us,  should  dislodge  a  stone  and 
hurl  us  to  the  bottom.  The  descent,  by  our  barome- 
ter, was  about  1800  feet. 

The  pass  is  just  at  the  inner  edge  of  the  semicir- 
cular wall  of  cliff  which,  spanning  a  chord,  of  about 
three  miles  from  the  Wady  Sudeir  to  Wady  Areyeh, 
embraces  a  horseshoe  plain  that  gently  slopes  to  the 
shore.     Three  hundred  or  four  hundred  feet  from  the, 


KASHAYIDEH  ARABS.  43 

bottom  is  a  break  in  tbe  cliff;  it  becomes  a  rugged 
slope ;  and  at  the  base  of  a  rock  the  copious,  warm, 
fresh  spring  of  Ain  Jidy  (Engedi) — i.  e.,  "  the  fountain 
of  the  kid  " — bursts  forth  amidst  an  oasis  of  tropical 
vegetation.  Here  that  quaint  asclepiad,  the  osher, 
the  jujube,  the  beautiful  parasite  Lonicera  indica,  and 
a  host  of  strange  semi-tropical  plants,  send  our  bota- 
nist into  an  ecstasy  of  delight.  There  were  still  three 
hours  of  daylight,  which  were  usefully  spent  by  the 
botanists  and  naturalists  gun  in  hand. 

The  Rashayideh,  the  tribe  who  claim  and  who  cul- 
tivate the  oasis,  were  encamped  not  far  off,  and  busily 
occupied  in  weeding  their  young  wheat.  They  have 
not  many  visitors,  and  I  was  very  soon  recognized  and 
greeted  by  several  of  them  as  an  old  friend.  The 
Eashayideh  are  a  very  small  and  weak,  and  therefore, 
prudently,  an  un warlike  tribe,  contriving  to  keep  on 
good  terms  with  both  Jehalin  and  Ta'amirah,  and  oc- 
casionally rather  heavily  laid  under  tribute  by  both. 
Like  the  Ghawarhineh,  they  are  partly  agricultural, 
though  not  substituting  the  hut  for  the  tent,  and  are 
of  a  decidedly  different  type  of  countenance  from  the 
Jehalin,  whom  they  far  surpass  in  good  looks,  and,  as 
I  found  on  my  previous  visit,  in  quick-witted  intelli- 
gence. They  willingly  lent  a  hand  to  gather  forage 
for  our  horses ;  and  after  we  had  bestowed  on  them 
and  on  our  Jehalin  guard  a  supper  of  rice,  they  re- 
warded us  with  a  capital  "  fantasia,"  or  Arab  dance 
and  recitative,  round  our  camp  fire,  which  they  con- 
tinued till  far  into  nicjht. 


•M  THE    LAND    OF   MOAB. 

The  entertainment  was  on  this  wise:  A  string  of 
eight  Bedouin  of  the  two  tribes  appeared  before  the 
door  of  the  "  great,"  or  dining  tent,  under  the  eaves 
of  which  the  howadji  were  accommodated  with  camp- 
stools.  Kanged  in  a  line,  one  acted  as  master  of  the 
ceremonies  (for  band  there  was  none),  and  led  off  in  a 
monotonous  chant,  taken  up  by  others  one  by  one, 
and  then  joined  in  by  all  in  chorus,  their  bodies  bend- 
ing to  the  ground,  hands  clapping,  and  feet  moving 
half  a  step  forward  in  regular  time,  till  within  a  few 
inches  of  the  noses  of  the  spectators,  when,  with  grin- 
ning rows  of  ivory  gleaming  out  of  the  dark  night, 
they  yelled  and  retreated.  A  Chinese  lantern  of  cloth 
supplied  the  place  of  gas;  a  railway  reading-lamp  did 
duty  for  foot-lights.  The  interlude  consisted  of  gut- 
tural roars  or  growls,  such  as  may  be  heard  any  day 
in  the  Zoological  Gardens  shortly  before  the  feeding- 
time  of  the  carnivora.  The  various  acts  sung  the 
praises  of  the  illustrious  guests  and  their  mountaineer- 
ing feats,  the  botanist,  as  "  the  Father  of  Cabbage,'" 
being  duly  honored  with  special  mention.  The  grand 
finale  of  each  scene  was  a  thrilling  whoop,  described 
by  a  huntsman  present  as  a  grand  "view-holloa,"  but 
voted  by  all  to  be  inimitable.  The  firing  of  match- 
locks and  illuminations  of  magnesium  wire  were  prom- 
inent features  in  the  piece,  thus  successfully  put  on 
the — we  can  not  say  boards,  but  the  sand  and  stones 
which  took  their  place,  at  Engedi,  for  the  first  time, 
on  February  2, 1872. 

The  greater  part  of  the  next  day  was  spent  in  re- 


DESOLATE   MASADA.  45 

visiting  the  most  interesting  sites  of  desolate  Engedi, 
especially  the  tine  caves  up  the  Wady  Sudeir,  with 
their  stalagmites  and  luxuriant  tresses  of  maiden-hair 
fern.  The  access  is  not  easy,  and  involved  so  much 
scrambling  that  it  was  not  surprising  that  some  trav- 
elers who  have  been  here  since  my  first  visit  had  fail- 
ed in  discovering  the  caves.  Many  small  birds  were 
making  the  oasis  their  winter-quarters,  and  I  was  for- 
tunate enough  to  obtain  a  pair  of  a  new  or  unde- 
scribed  species  of  warbler,  something  like  the  Sardin- 
ian warbler  of  South  Europe,  and  which  has  been 
named  Sylvia  Tnelanoiliorax^  Black  -  throated  warbler 
("Ibis,"  1872,  p.  296). 

In  the  afternoon  we  bid  farewell  to  the  Rashayideh, 
the  successors  of  the  Kenites  of  Engedi,  and  followed 
our  mules  along  the  shore,  intending  to  camp  and 
spend  our  Sunday  under  Sebbeh,  the  celebrated  an- 
cient fortress  of  Masada.  With  the  exception  of  one 
or  two  sulphur  hot  springs  close  to  the  edge  of  the 
lake,  the  ride  is  the  most  uninteresting  possible,  utter- 
ly devoid  of  life,  and  with  the  cliffs  and  mountains 
rising  upward  of  2000  feet  sheer,  glaring  red  in  the 
sunlight,  and  the  soft  marl  deposit  at  their  base  of  a 
monotonous,  dazzling  whiteness.  This  part  of  the 
shore  more  truly  reaches  the  popular  notion  of  the 
desolation  of  the  Dead  Sea  than  any  other. 

We  found  our  tents  pitched  not  very  far  from  the 
shore,  by  the  side  of  the  bed,  if  bed  it  may  be  called, 
of  the  Wady  Seyal,  or  "Acacia  Valley,"  and  at  least 
two  miles  from  the  base  of  the  hills,  which  could  only 


46  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

be  reached  through  a  labyrinth  of  soft  marl,  scooped, 
torn,  and  furrowed  by  winter  torrents  into  every  fan- 
tastic shape  in  which  wild  fancy  could  have  molded 
matter ;  ruins,  and  crumbling  castles,  flat-topped  mam- 
elons,  square  forts,  cairns,  pinnacles,  and  tide-washed 
rocks,  all  made  of  this  crumbling  white  and  ver}'-  salt 
deposit,  so  soft  that  it  was  very  difficult  anywhere  to 
climb  them.  Yet  not  a  plant  nor  a  bird  could  be  seen, 
save  here  and  there  in  the  low  bed  of  the  wady  a  tuft 
of  some  salt-loving  plant  and  a  gnarled  acacia.  A  sol- 
itary desert  hare,  with  body  not  larger  than  a  rabbit, 
and  ears  one-third  longer  than  our  hare's,  was  occa- 
sionally started,  and  was  speedily  lost  in  the  labyrinth. 

We  soon  felt  the  change  of  temperature  implied  in 
being  1300  feet  below  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  night 
was  sultry,  and  more  so  was  the  day,  happily  the  day 
of  rest.  After  morning  service  in  our  tent,  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  revisiting  Sebbeh,  and  recalling  once  more 
on  the  spot  the  tragic  history  of  Masada.  The  for- 
tress will  well  repay  many  a  visit ;  and  I  was  especial- 
ly interested  in  refreshing  my  memory  while  enjoy 
ing  the  sanguine  hope  of  soon  seeing  the  sister  castle 
of  Machserus,  yet  more  closely  bound  up  with  both 
Jewish  and  inspired  history.  We  did  not  attempt 
the  eastern  face,  but  felt  that  the  quiet  zigzag  round 
to  the  western  shoulder  by  the  Roman  causeway  was 
more  within  a  Sabbath-day's  journey. 

I  am  not  about  to  describe  afresh  what  I  have  al- 
ready described,  and  what  others  who  followed  me  (one 
of  whom  left  for  us  his  pocket-handkerchief,  marked 


sebbeh; 


47 


C.  M.)  have  still  more  accurately  depicted.  We  cor- 
rected our  barometric  observations  of  the  height  of  the 
fortress,  which  is  1250  instead  of  1500  feet,  as  I  had  er- 
roneously calculated  it.  The  great  cistern  at  the  south 
end  we  found,  in  spite  of  the  late  rains,  to  be  empty, 
doubtless  from  the  stoppage  of  the  conduits,  which 


NO.  1. 


SEBBEU.      DEAD   SEA   FKOM   OUR   CAMP. 


can  still  be  seen.  Near  the  top  we  noticed  two  open-' 
ings  in  the  cliff,  hewn  through  the  native  rock  at  the 
south  face,  and  which  a  pair  of  lanner  falcons  and  sev- 
eral pairs  of  owls  had  found  most  convenient  as  afford- 
ing secure  access  to  their  nests  in  the  roof,  while  the 
hyenas  had  been  using  the  broken  steps  down  which 
we  scrambled. 


48  THE   LAND    OF   MOAB. 

The  comparatively  perfect  building  in  the  centre 
of  the  inclosure,  and  which  I,  in  common  with  oth- 
ers, for  want  of  a  better  term,  have  spoken  of  as  the 
chapel,*  seems,  most  probably,  to  have  been  the  syna- 
gogue of  the  fortress.  As  there  is  no  trace  of  any 
Christian  occupation,  historical  or  architectural,  and 
as  the  building  seems  undoubtedly  contemporary  with 
the  rest  of  the  constructions,  we  may  fairly  adopt  this 
conjecture,  especially  as,  on  close  examination  of  the 
contiguous  chamber  to  the  north,  there  are  traces  of 
its  having  been  fitted  as  a  bath,  doubtless  for  the  cere- 
monial ablutions,  while  the  other  chamber  would  be 
for  the  use  of  students  of  the  holy  books.  If  this  be 
so,  this  is  certainly  the  most  ancient  synagogue  pre- 
served to  our  days,  and  the  only  one  prior  to  the  cap- 
ture of  Jerusalem  by  Titus.  All  those  so  admirably 
illustrated  in  the  papers  of  the  Palestine  Exploration 
Fund  by  Captain  C.W.Wilson,  R.E.jf  in  Galilee,  were 
presumably  erected  after  the  return  of  the  Jews  in  the 
time  of  Hadrian,  with,  let  us  hope,  the  exception  of 
that  at  Tel  Hum.  If  this  building  were  a  synagogue, 
it  differs  from  those  in  Galilee  in  being  placed  east 
and  west,  instead  of  north  and  south  (although  that  at 
Irbid  is  almost  a  rectangle),  and  in  the  absence  of  col- 
umns. Both  these  variations  may  be  simply  caused 
by  the  difference  of  conditions  between  a  fortress 
chapel,  constructed  for  the  wants  of  a  garrison  in  a 


*  "  Land  of  Israel,"  2(1  edit.,  p.  313. 

+  "Palestine  Exploration  Fund  Statement,"  18G0,  p.  37. 


ACOUSTIC   PHENOMENON.  49 

confined  space,  and  a  house  of  worship  in  an  open  vil- 
lage or  town. 

While  on  the  fortress,  we  descried  a  party  of  Arabs 
descending  the  gorge  of  Nemriyeh  toward  our  camp, 
and  our  guides,  keener-sighted  without,  than  we  with, 
our  field-glasses,  pronounced  them  to  be  the  company 
of  our  old  friend  Hamzi  of  Hebron,  on  their  way  to 
re-enforce  our  escort ;  and  on  our  return  we  found  our 
old  tormentor  and  protector  overflowing  as  usual  with 
poetical  civilities. 

The  acoustic  properties  of  these  clear  regions  have 
often  been  spoken  of  We  had  here  a  wonderful 
instance.  Hayne  had  remained  behind  for  an  hour, 
when  we  started  for  the  ascent  of  Masada,  When  at 
the  top,  we  saw  him,  on  his  way  to  join  us,  at  the  foot 
of  the  next  cliff,  about  500  yards  from  the  base  of  the 
rock  of  Masada,  and  1250  feet  below  us ;  yet  at  this 
immense  distance  of  over  600  yards  we  not  only  car- 
ried on  a  conversation  with  him,  but,  as  he  proved, 
on  joining  us,  he  could  hear  several  of  our  remarks 
to  each  other.  We  found  abundance  of  water  in  the 
gullies,  west  of  Sebbeh,  On  our  way  back,  I  noticed 
a  pair  of  the  beautiful  and  rare  wheat-ear  Saxicola 
monacha,  which  I  never  found  elsewhere,  except  on 
the  salt  mountain  of  Jebel  Usdum,  but  which  is  also 
found  on  the  dreary  steppes  of  Nubia  and  Abyssinia, 

We  sat  up  rather  late  after  evening  service,  at- 
tracted by  a  magnificent  aurora  borealis,  a  sight  un- 
wonted in  these  latitudes,  I  never  remember,  even 
in  the  north  of  England,  to  have  seen  one  so  brilliant, 

4 


50  THE   LAND   OF   3I0AB. 

and  so  persistent  in  its  coloring.  It  was  all  orange- 
red,  with  grand  streaks  intensifying  the  rays  occasion- 
ally, but  no  green  or  pale  rays.*  The  Arabs,  to  our 
great  surprise,  seemed  very  little  attracted,  and  cer- 
tainly not,  as  we  might  have  expected,  alarmed  by  it. 
On  our  questioning  them,  they  said  they  had  seen  it 
sometimes  before,  and  that  the  last  time  was  when  the 
French  and  Germans  were  going  to  fight.  We  asked 
them  if  they  thought  it  was  a  portent.  They  said 
they  did  not  know,  but  they  believed  it  had  to  do 
with  the  north  country,  and  not  with  themselves. 
We  were  interested  some  weeks  afterward  to  find,  by 
the  European  papers,  that  we,  down  by  the  Dead  Sea, 
had  not  been  alone  in  our  admiration  of  the  extraor- 
dinary northern  lights  of  4th  February,  1872,  but  that 
they  had  attracted  great  attention  not  only  in  Europe 
but  even  in  Egypt,  far  up  the  Nile.  From  Sebbel 
the  route  to  Jebel  Usdum  is  along  the  shore.f 

*  See  Appendix  A. 

f  I  was  able  to  correct,  or  at  least  to  alter,  the  orthogi-aphy  of  one  or 
two  names.  There  are  seven  wadys  from  Sebbeh  to  the  south-west 
angle  of  the  sea,  and  none  of  these  bear  names  which  can  be  referred 
to  an  earlier  time  than  the  Arabic  language.  They  are  Wady  Safsaf, 
"  the  willow  valley,"  erroneously  marked  "  Hafhaf ;"  Eubt  el  Jamus, 
"the  binding  of  the  heifer;"  Senin,  "broom;"  Um  el  Bedun,  "the 
mother  of  the  Ibex ;"  Ilatrura,  Umbaghek,  "  the  mother  of  the  cow," 
and  Mejd.  These  names  sufficiently  show  that  no  tradition  of  olden 
time  has  shaped  the  nomenclature.  I  was  amused  at  an  instance  of 
the  way  in  which  names  may  become  interpolated.  One  of  our  party, 
eager  to  collect  infonnation,  asked  old  Selameh  the  name  of  the  head- 
land on  our  right.  At  the  same  moment  a  pair  of  sand-grouse  were 
flushed.     "  K'tar  k'tar,"  exclaimed  our  guide,  looking  on  game  as  far 


VIEW   OF   MOUNT  HOR,  51 

When  just  opposite  the  opening  of  Wady  Hatrura, 
Selameh  pointed  out  to  me  the  exact  spot  where  he, 
when  a  youth,  had  forded  across  to  the  Lisan.  From 
his  age,  this  may  have  been  sixty  or  seventy  years 
ago.  There  must  have  been  considerable  changes 
since  then  in  the  currents  of  the  Dead  Sea,  for  Lynch's 
soundings  show  a  maximum  of  three  fathoms,  or  eight- 
een feet.  No  one,  according  to  Arab  testimony,  has 
attempted  this  feat  for  many  years;  yet  Selameh 
avows  he  did  it  on  his  camel,  which  would  make  the 
maximum  depth  eight  feet. 

Just  at  the  crest  of  the  headland  "  Mersed,"  which 
we  crossed,  and  where  there  is  no  wady  whatever,  we 
observed  a  curious  Arab  custom.  It  is  just  at  the 
point  where  Van  de  Yelde's  and  my  own  maps  show 
that  the  cliffs  come  quite  close  to  the  sea,  leaving  no 
beach  whatever,  and  where  we  have  to  mount  the 
shoulder  of  the  headland.  On  reaching  the  crest  of 
the  shoulder,  the  distant  mountains  of  Edom  come  in 
view;  and  among  these,  very  distinctly,  Jebel  Haroun, 
"  Mount  Aaron,"  the  Mount  Hor  of  the  Scripture,  and 
a  sacred  spot  of  the  Moslems.  Every  rock  and  boul- 
der of  the  rugged  steep  by  the  track  was  piled  with 
small  stones.  No  devout  Bedouin  will  pass  that  way 
without  adding  to  the  pile ;  for  every  traveler,  when 
he  first  catches  sight  of  the  holy  mountain,  must,  ac- 
cording to  custom,  place  there  his  "stone  of  witness.'' 

We  had  another  instance  of  the  tenacity  of  old 

beyond  names  in  importance,  and  down  went  Wady  el  Kattar  in  the 
note-book.  Nor  was  this  enough,  for  a  second  time  in  the  same 
journal  did  Wady  el  Kitter,  evoked  under  like  circumstances,  appear. 


52  THE   LAND    OF   MOAB. 

Scriptural  customs  in  the  way  in  whicb,  as  of  old, 
names  are  given.  One  of  our  Jehalin  guard  was  call- 
ed Ehideir  —  ^.  e.,  "watering -place."  On  Mr.  Klein 
asking  him  how  he  came  to  have  so  strange  a  name, 
he  told  us  he  was  born  as  his  mother  was  going  with 
her  pitcher  to  the  watering-place,  and  first  saw  the 
light  at  the  "  Ehideir." 

Passing  Wadj  Nejd,  we  soon  reached  the  turn  to- 
ward the  east;  and  riding  across  the  open  scrubby 
plain  which  forms  the  oasis  of  Zuweirah,  reached  the 
north-west  shoulder  of  Jebel  Usdum,  the  "Salt  Mount- 
ain," where  we  were  to  camp,  favored  by  some  fine 
acacia,  or  "seyal,"  trees.  Grievous  was  the  disap- 
pointment of  our  botanist.  I  had  promised  him  here 
a  rich  harvest.  On  my  former  expedition  we  had 
collected  here,  in  the  very  same  week  of  the  year, 
more  than  seventy  species  of  plants  in  flower.  The 
gravel  was  then  literally  carpeted  with  color;  now 
scarcely  a  blade  of  green  or  a  blossom  could  be  seen. 
The  lateness,  or  the  non-arrival,  of  the  rains  had  made 
all  the  difference  between  barrenness  and  fertility. 
On  strolling  along  the  edge  of  the  mountain,  I  was 
struck  by  the  change  which  the  short  period  of  eight 
years  had  made  in  several  well-remembered  spots — 
how  sundry  isolated  fragments  of  salt,  or  "  Lot's 
wives,"  had  been  washed  away,  and  other  pinnacles 
had  been  detached  by  the  rains  to  take  their  places. 
Turning  round  the  northern  corner  of  Jebel  Usdum 
by  Eas  Hish  (the  Sodom  of  De  Saulcy,  but  merely 
the  remains  of  a  small  fort  for  the  protection  of  the 
salt  workers),  we  enter  on  the  "Vale  of  Salt." 


AN   EARLY   START.  53 


CHAPTER  TIL 

An  early  Start. — Effect  of  the  Sua  on  the  Mountains. — Sudden  Thun- 
der-storm.— A  Sah  Cavern. — Marl  Deposit  on  the  Salt  Mountain. 
• — Its  Origin. — Elevation  of  the  New  Red  Sandstone. — Position  of 
the  Salt  Rock. —  Crossing  the  Sebkha. —  Alarm  of  Marauders. — 
Frontier  of  Moab. — Sudden  Apparition  of  Enemies. — A  threatened 
Skirmish. — Naked  Warriors. — Our  Guide  stripped. — The  Beni  Ati- 
yeh. — A  Treaty  made. —  March  through  the  Wood. — Difficulties 
of  Exploration. — A  costly  Giiard. — Vegetation  of  the  Safieh. — An- 
cient Remains. — Kasr  el  Bushariyeh. — Old  Mill. — Moslem  Bury- 
ing-ground. — Remains  exposed. — Boundary  of  Moab. — Brook  Ze- 
red. — Suphah. —  Variety  in  the  Vegetation  of  the  Safieh.^  Horse- 
men from  Kerak. — Son  of  the  MudjellL — Petty  Thefts. — A  Mulo 
on  its  Trial. — Return  of  the  Jehalin. 

It  was  important  to  have  an  early  start,  in  order 
to  get  into  the  Safieh,  or  south-east  oasis  of  the  Dead 
Sea,  in  good  time ;  and  our  people,  who  had  not  for- 
gotten our  chidings  for  many  previous  delays,  deter- 
mined to  rouse  us  betimes,  and,  accordingly,  served 
coffee  and  began  to  loosen  tent  pegs  at  8.30  a.m.  We 
would  not  risk  a  late  start  by  sending  them  back 
to  bed,  but  took  their  practical  joke  as  a  matter  of 
course.  Brightly  burned  our  four  watch-fires  as  we 
sauntered  about.  Mr.  Johnson  took  the  opportunity 
of  a  clear,  starlit  sky  to  make  observations  for  lati- 
tude and  longitude.  A  little  after  four  o'clock  the 
crescent  moon  rose  over  the  mountains  of  Moab;  and 
the  sun  had  scarcely  cast  the  gloaming  of  approach- 


54  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

ing  dawn  over  the  eastern  peaks,  when,  before  six 
o'clock,  we  were  off,  and  began  to  round  the  north 
end  of  Jebel  Usdum. 

At  6.30  the  sun  rose,  and  its  effect  on  the  western 
face  of  the  Moab  mountains  in  front,  and  on  the  sea 
beneath  them,  was  very  wonderfuh  A  deep,  green- 
ish mist  seemed  to  wrap  the  lower  parts,  gradually 
melting  into  a  dark  red  higher  up,  and  the  few  fleecy 
clouds  were  gilded.  Soon  a  change  came  over  all, 
and  the  rolling  peals  and  black  masses  in  the  south- 
west warned  us  of  a  coming  storm.  We  could  not 
hurry  on.  We  were  now  in  the  most  desolate  and 
dreary  corner  of  that  desolate  shore,  without  one  trace 
of  vegetable  life,  not  even  a  stray  salsola  or  salicornia, 
to  relieve  the  flat  sand-beds.  The  sand  and  loam  of 
the  shore  was  deep  and  heavy,  our  horses  sunk  at 
each  step  above  the  fetlocks,  and  not  until  we  were 
wet  through  could  we  turn  to  the  salt  mountains  on 
our  right  and  ride  into  a  salt  cavern,  or  rather  tun- 
nel. The  bottom  was  dry  and  dusty.  We  dismount- 
ed, and  explored  it  with  wax-matches,  when  sudden- 
ly there  was  a  sound  of  waters  overhead,  and  in  a 
few  minutes  a  stream  of  salt  mud  was  rushing  along 
the  cavern  to  the  sea. 

The  storm  was  not  of  long  continuance,  and  grand- 
ly it  rolled  northward  up  the  lake  in  a  black  mass, 
leaving  us  in  sunshine.  I  had  time  here  to  notice 
and  consider  some  points  about  the  mountain  and  its 
formation.  Some  fine  perpendicular  sections  were 
displayed  from  top  to  bottom,  the  salt  having  cleft 


MARL   DEPOSIT.  55 

perpendicularly.  The  whole  ridge  of  pure  rock-salt, 
perhaps  two  hundred  feet  high,  is  covered  by  a  layer 
of  chalky  marl  and  natron  about  fifty  or  sixty  feet 
thick.  I  have  often  wondered  how  this  was  formed, 
and  used  to  imagine  it  had  been  uplifted  on  the  top 
of  the  salt,  and  that  the  position  of  the  ridge  was  due 
to  local  elevation.  But  it  seems  to  me  now,  from 
some  facts  I  noticed  during  the  sudden  rain,  that  the 
superincumbent  mass  is  simply  the  earthy  matter  left 
on  the  top  by  the  action  of  water,  which  has,  in  the 
course  of  ages,  washed  all  the  soluble  salts  into  the 
sea,  leaving  only  this  detritus,  or  sediment.  The 
process  is  actually  going  on,  and  may  be  seen  on  any 
of  the  detached  blocks  which  have  been  disintegrated 
from  the  mass,  and  which,  clear  and  transparent  at 
first,  soon  became  covered,  but  only  on  their  top, 
with  this  earthy  deposit.  How  many  ages  must 
have  been  requisite  to  wash  away  by  gentle  rain  ac- 
tion salt  enough  to  leave  fifty  feet  of  marly  sediment 
on  the  ridge! 

I  see  no  signs  of  any  upheaval  of  the  ridge.  The 
mass  would  rather  appear  to  have  been  left,  owing 
to  the  superior  hardness  of  the  salt,  when  the  tor- 
rents from  the  south  scooped  out  the  whole  southern 
Sebkha,  and  swept  all  its  soft  loam  and  chalk  into  the 
sea,  while  the  torrents  of  the  Mahawat  and  Zuweirah 
performed  the  same  ofl&ce  less  completely  on  its  west- 
ern side,  the  gravel  and  sand  being  there  fifty  feet 
higher  than  the  mnd  on  the  eastern  side. 

This  theory  would  leave  the  whole  salt  mass  below 


56  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

the  old  level  of  the  marl  deposits,  which  fringe  the 
.base  of  the  cliffs  all  down  the  western  shore,  and 
also  the  shoulder  of  the  Lisan  on  the  eastern  side. 
Ao^ain,  our  observations  in  Moab  showed  us  that  the 
new  red  sandstone  can  not  be  far  beneath  the  surface 
on  the  western  side,  because  there  has  been  a  manifest 
upheaval  along  the  whole  line,  and  the  new  red  sand- 
stone is  uniformly  displayed  under  the  eocene  lime- 
stone, which  overlies  it  to  a  depth  of  about  two  hun- 
dred feet  more  than  the  whole  height  of  the  western 
range.  Assuming,  then,  the  equal  deposition  of  the 
chalky  limestone  on  either  side,  the  rock-salt  must 
be  lying  on  the  new  red,  at  a  depth  of  more  than  two 
hundred  feet  below  the  surface.  Thus  the  salt  de- 
posit of  the  Jordan  valley  is  similar  in  its  nature  and 
geological  position  to  the  salt  rocks  of  Cheshire  and 
the  new  red  sandstone  of  England. 

At  9  A.M.,  after  three  hours,  we  reached  within  a 
mile  the  south  end  of  the  Salt  Mountain,  and  finding 
the  bottom  firmer,  immediately  turned  due  east  to 
cross  the  Sebkha,  or  desolate  sand  swamp.  Heavy 
work  we  found  it  after  the  rain,  and  for  safety  we 
had  to  keep  close  to  our  mules,  for  this  is  "no  man's 
land."  Great  alarm  was  expressed  by  our  guards  on 
detecting  a  party  of  men  in  the  far  distance,  on  the 
plain  south  of  Usdum.  However,  wonderful  as  are 
their  powers  of  vision,  our  field-glasses  beat  them  for 
once,  and  we  were  able  to  re-assure  them  by  telling 
them  that  of  the  seven  one  only  had  a  gun,  and  that 
they  were  driving  two  black  cows,  or  donkeys.     We 


ALARM   OF   MARAUDERS.  57 

found  afterward  that  they  were  a  party  of  cattle  lift- 
ers, who  had  stolen  two  cows  from  the  Safieh  in  the 
night. 

We  crossed  the  shallow  beds  of  the  Kuseib,  the 
Jeib,  the  Ghurundel,  and  other  lesser  drains  from  the 
Akabah,  whose  united  contributions  to  the  waters  of 
the  lake  are  very  small ;  and  before  11  o'clock  we 
reached  the  Wady  Tufileh,  a  mere  ditch  with  muddy 
banks,  without  a  particle  of  vegetation,  with  a  strip 
of  narrow,  greasy,  sandy  plain  beyond ;  and  then,  at 
the  distance  of  200  to  250  yards,  a  line  of  thick,  dense 
canebrake,  the  commencement  of  the  Safieh,  the  ex- 
act boundary-line  between  ancient  Edom,  where  we 
were,  and  Moab.  As  we  rode  up  to  the  deep  mud- 
dy bank,  ready  to  ford,  a  tall,  mounted  Arab,  with 
a  long  spear,  dashed  from  a  narrow  opening  in  the 
reeds,  and  in  an  instant  about  150  wild,  armed  Be- 
douin deployed  from  the  canebrake  and  spread  them- 
selves along  the  narrow  plain  on  the  other  side, 
gesticulating,  and  wildly  brandishing  their  weapons. 
They  were  a  savage-looking  lot,  more  like  Maoris,  or 
Fiji  islanders,  than  any  Western  race,  as  they  yelled 
and  capered,  evidently  meaning  mischief,  and  strip- 
ped for  the  fight;  for  the  Bedouin,  unless  mounted, 
always  go  naked  into  battle.  Some  had  guns,  some 
spears,  a  few  huge  swords,  and  many  only  most  for- 
midable clubs,  or  maces  with  a  round,  spiked  head. 

We  were  bewildered  fot  the  moment,  and  I  feared 
the  Safieh  was  destined  to  be  for  the  second  time  a 
turning-point   for   me.      Suddenly   our   gallant   old 


58  .        THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

sheik,  Selameh,  dashed  across  the  stream,  to  parley 
with  the  single  mounted  horseman,  a  fine  -  looking, 
wild  fellow,  clad  in  a  sheep-skin  coat  with  the  woolly 
side  in,  and  painted  yellow.  Several  shots  were 
fired,  harmlessly,  from  the  other  side,  but  none  in  re- 
turn from  ours.  As  the  old  sheik  mounted  on  the 
opposite  bank,  his  horse  sunk  in  the  mud,  and  rolled 
over:  in  an  instant  he  was  dragged  out  by  the  ruf- 
fians, his  gun  and  all  else  taken  from  him,  and  he 
was  lost  to  our  sight  in  the  melee. 

Some  of  the  foe  now  waded  across  to  where  we 
were  standing  in  line  by  the  edge,  apparently  aiming 
at  capturing  some  of  the  mules  behind.  One  of  our 
Jehalin  foot-guard,  a  fine  young  Bedouin,  who  was 
my  special  companion,  and  had  been  also  with  me 
on  my  former  expedition,  tried  to  push  them  back, 
and  was  instantly  felled  senseless  to  the  ground  by 
the  butt  end  of  a  gun,  which  cut  his  cheek  to  the 
bone.  Another  fellow  came  up,  as  if  to  dispatch  him 
with  his  club,  but  was  held  back  by  his  own  party. 
Old  Hamzi  now  came  to  the  front  on  foot,  assured  us 
that  it  was  a  tribal  quarrel,  and  that  we  had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  fray,  and,  bare-legged,  waded  across  in 
great  excitement,  when  he  too  was  lost  in  the  yelling 
crowd. 

Daoud,  our  dragoman,  next  spurred  his  horse  across, 
but  fell ;  and  before  he  could  recover  his  footing,  his 
outer  clothing,  belt,  satchel,  and  money  -  bag  were 
stripped  from  him  ;  but  he  still  held  on  tenaciously  to 
Hayne's  gun,  which  he  was  carrjnng.     In  a  moment 


THE    BENI   ATIYEH.  59 

bis  saddle-bags,  which  contained  the  luncheon  of  the 
party,  were  emptied  ;  but  he  succeeded  in  recovering 
his  horse,  and  was  the  only  mounted  man  of  our  side 
across.  Another  Jehalin  who  ventured  over  was  fell- 
ed ;  but  Daoud,  who  throughout  behaved  with  admira- 
ble coolness,  had  evidently  by  this  time  got  the  chief- 
tain's ear,  and  a  long  and  vociferous  discussion  en- 
sued, which  we  anxiously  watched.  To  fight  would 
have  been  madness  ;  we  had  no  cover,  no  possible  re- 
treat, and  were  overwhelmed  by  numbers ;  so  we  kept 
back  our  muleteers  and  guards,  and  patiently  awaited 
the  event. 

It  turned  out  that  the  tribe  were  the  dreaded  Beni 
Atiyeh,  a  new  tribe  from  Arabia,  who  have  only  re- 
cently taken  to  marauding  in  this  part  of  the  country, 
and  have  the  worst  possible  reputation.  With  them 
were  a  few  of  the  Ma'az  from  Orak,  south  of  Kerak, 
a  tribe  of  similar  habits,  and  also  of  the  Ghawarhi- 
neh,  the  proper  inhabitants  of  the  Safieh,  and  who  by 
themselves  are  by  no  means  an  unmanageable  or  dan- 
gerous tribe,  though,  from  their  climate,  more  de- 
graded than  any  of  the  highland  clans  to  the  east- 
ward. These  Beni  Atiyeh  had  a  blood  feud  with  the 
Ta'amirah,  whom  they  supposed  we  had  taken  with 
us,  but  none  with  the  Jehalin.  Well  was  it  now  for 
us  that  we  had  steadily  refused  the  advances  of  the 
Ta'amirah  at  Hebron. 

At  length  the  yellow-coated  horseman  and  Daoud 
rode  back  together  toward  us.  The  sheik  cried  out, 
"  The  Christians  are  my  friends !  the  Ta'amirah  only 


60  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

are  mj  enemies !"  Hamzi,  lifting  up  his  hands,  swore 
loudly  that  not  a  Ta'amirah  was  with  us ;  and  the 
horseman,  galloping  along  the  line  of  his  savage  fol- 
lowers, ordered  them  back.  Eeluctantly,  and  with 
many  a  significant  gesture,  the  naked  horde,  baulked 
of  their  prey,  fell  back  a  little,  and  we  crossed.  Mean- 
time an  angry  debate  arose  between  our  sheik,  Sela- 
meh,  and  theirs,  doubtless  as  to  the  amount  of  back- 
sheesh, which  we  left  them  to  settle.  "We  now  form- 
ed in  file,  and  slowly  and  cautiously  proceeded,  the 
Beni  Atiyeh  sheik  leading  the  van,  those  who  cared 
more  for  their  personal  safety  than  for  the  loss  of  the 
baggage,  or  of  any  stray  mules,  accompanying  him ; 
while  the  rest  of  the  party  formed  a  rear-guard,  and 
kept  a  sharp  look-out  on  the  sumpter  animals — no  easy 
task  through  three  miles  of  tangled  brush-wood  and 
thicket,  with  the  wild  and  naked  warriors  swarming 
on  all  sides,  endeavoring  to  scare  any  stray  mule  to 
the  right  or  left,  when  two  minutes  would  have  suf- 
ficed for  the  partition  of  the  booty. 

At  length  we  reached  a  small  open  space  near  the 
Ghawarhineh  camp,  where  we  were  ordered  to  pitch. 
Carefully  we  formed  a  cordon,  to  keep  off  the  wonder- 
ing and  still  rather  irritated  crowd.  From  the  treach- 
erous character  of  our  hosts,  we  took  care  to  keep  an 
armed  guard,  relieved  at  intervals  during  the  night, 
round  our  camp,  grateful,  indeed,  for  the  Providence 
which  had  preserved  us  so  far  in  safety,  and  joining 
with  heartfelt  gratitude  in  the  23d  Psalm,  as  we  lay 
down  for  our  first  night  within  the  boundaries  of  Moab. 


THE   SAFIEH.  61 

The  next  day  was  devoted  to  a  careful  examination 
of  the  few  traces  of  antiquity  in  the  Safieh.  This  was 
not  easily  accomplished,  as  our  wild  hosts  would  not 
suffer  us  to  move  out  alone,  and  demanded  extrava- 
gant backsheesh  for  a  guard  of  honor  of  eight  horse- 
men, which  they  insisted  were  necessary  for  our  safe- 
ty. Time  was  more  precious  than  money,  and  we 
had  to  submit  to  this  extra  extortion.  Mounting  our 
horses,  we  first  of  all  turned  south-east  from  our  camp- 
ing-ground toward  the  principal  ruins  of  the  Safieh. 
Our  leader  was  the  sheik  of  Ghawarhineh,  Dabbour, 
who  informed  us  he  had  acted  in  the  same  capacity 
for  Messrs.  Palmer  and  Drake.  The  ground  is  no- 
where completely  cleared,  but  cultivated  in  patches, 
hemmed  in  with  dense  and  impenetrable  clumps  of 
Zizyphus,  and  Seyal  Acacia  trees,  with  other  thorny 
shrubs,  arranged  in  a  natural,  park-like  fashion.  Few 
other  trees  were  to  be  found  in  this  part,  and  no  palm- 
tree  of  any  kind. 

We  soon  reached  the  Sell  es  Safieh,  a  tolerably- 
sized  stream,  with  a  gravelly  bed,  here  flowing  in  a 
northerly  direction,  and  receiving  little  affluents  from 
the  east.  On  the  other  side  of  the  stream  the  vegeta- 
tion was  different,  and  the  soil  not  the  rich  marshy 
loam  which  covers  the  plain  from  the  stream  to  the 
sea,  but  lighter  and  gravelly.  The  thickets  were  not 
so  close,  and  the  osher-tree  {Calotwiyis  procera)  was  tJw 
feature  of  the  tangle.  All  along  the  course  of  the  Sa- 
fieh the  stream  is  tapped  by  little  conduits  on  its  left 
bank ;   so  that  the  whole  Ghor  can  be  turned  into  a 


62  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

watered  meadow,  as  is  practiced  by  the  same  tribe  at 
Jericho.  The  cultivators  were  only  now  beginning  to 
turn  on  the  water  for  their  little  patches  of  corn,  to- 
bacco, and  indigo.  There  seems  a  well-arranged  sys- 
tem by  which  the  riparian  proprietors  exercise  their 
rights  of  "  water-privilege  "  in  rotation,  each  being 
allowed  to  tap  the  Sell  in  turn,  but  only  for  so  many 
days.  Three  days'  water  is  sufficient  to  clothe  a  bar- 
ren stubble  with  a  rich  green  hue.  The  little  stream- 
lets are  led  off  carefully  westward,  from  patch  to  patch, 
until  the  supply  is  exhausted.  We  kept  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Sell  till  we  reached  the  ruins. 

The  remains,  though  extensive,  are  very  poor  and 
disappointing.  On  a  slightly  rising  slope  are  strewn 
a  mass  of  loose  stones,  covering  several  acres,  with  a 
few  fragments  of  walls,  many  solid  foundations,  and 
a  few  portions  of  round  columns.  The  name  given 
to  these  ruins,  Sheik  'Aisa,  affords  no  clue  whatever 
to  any  ancient  name.  Unlike  the  ruins  of  western 
Palestine,  the  city  has  been  constructed  of  soft  sand- 
stone exclusively ;  and  this  has  been  much  weathered, 
and  reduced  often  to  a  state  of  complete  disintegra- 
tion. The  sandstone  is  never  found  west  of  Jordan, 
as  nowhere,  west  of  the  great  fissure,  has  the  eocene 
chalk  been  sufficiently  elevated  to  show  the  underly- 
ing formation.  The  fragments  of  columns  were  all 
plain,  none  fluted;  and  we  could  find  no  inscriptions, 
and  only  one  sculptured  stone,  probably  of  Christian 
origin,  for  the  central  ornament  was  a  Greek  cross. 
There  were  no  traces  which  could  indicate  the  date  of 


KASK   EL   BUSHARIYEH.  63 

the  buildings,  and  certainly  there  was  not  the  slightest 
vestige  of  any  fortification,  or  even  of  a  wall  surround- 
ing the  straggling  village.  Fortification  we  could  not 
expect  to  find,  as  the  position  is  one  peculiarly  de- 
fenseless, and  the  very  last  which  would  have  been 
selected  in  the  times  of  ancient  warfare  as  a  frontier 
fortress.  We  have,  probably,  here  merely  the  remains 
of  a  Roman  village  in  the  more  peaceful  days  of  the 
early  empire. 

A  few  hundred  yards  higher  up  are  some  far  more 
perfect  ruins,  called  Kasr  el  Bushariyeh,  of  a  much 
later  date,  not  earlier  than  the  Crusading  or  earlier 
Saracenic  times.  These  had  been  pointed  out  to  me 
before  as  the  Tawahin  es  Suhkar  ("Sugar-mills"); 
but  Dabbour  assured  us  that  the  true  Sugar-mills 
were  north  of  the  Lisan,  in  which  his  report  agrees 
with  Burckhardt's  information.  There  have  evident- 
ly been  water-mills  of  some  kind  here,  and  there  are 
two  stone-lined  and  covered  channels  by  which  the 
water  has  been  guided  to  turn  undershot  wheels. 
These,  with  the  sluices,  are  in  perfect  preservation. 
There  is  a  massive  gate-way  built  of  dressed  stone 
with  pointed  arches.  But  this  original  building  has 
been  largely  added  to  by  mud-built  walls;  and  it 
seems  as  though  the  mills  had  been  abandoned,  and 
the  whole  converted  into  a  khan  by  the  later  addi- 
tions of  earthen  walls.  On  the  gate-way  are  many 
tribe  marks,  carved  like  those  on  the  fortress  of  Ma- 
sada,  which,  from  their  comprising  the  signs  of  Mars 
and  Venus  ( S  and  ?  ),  have  been  imagined  to  be  astro- 

5 


64  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

nomical  symbols.  Eound  these  ruins  is  the  cemetery 
of  the  neighboring  tribe.  The  bodies  are  merely 
placed  in  the  bank  of  drifting  sand,  and  so  lightly 
covered  that  we  saw  the  bleached  and  withered  forms 
of  two  women,  with  their  ordinary  clothes  on,  lying 
exposed  on  the  surface.  Our  guards  had  sufficient 
civilization  to  feel  ashamed  of  this  exposure,  and  to 
make  apologies  for  it,  as  accidental  from  the  high 
winds. 

A  little  way  above  the  Kasr  is  the  third  ruin,  deci- 
dedly Moslem  in  its  origin,  and  called  El  Mushnekk'r, 
or  "  the  gallows ;"  not  that  any  gibbet  is  there,  though 
skulls  dug  out  of  the  graves  by  the  hyenas  strew  the 
ground.  There  appears  to  have  been  a  Mohammed- 
an wely  here ;  but  I  could  find  no  traces  one  could 
fairly  assign  to  a  Christian  chapel. 

About  half  an  hour  farther  south  the  Wady  Feifeh 
comes  in ;  and  this  was  the  limit  of  our  southward 
exploration.  Beyond  it  is  Wady  Tufileh,  which  we 
had  crossed  before  entering  the  Safieh.  The  Wady 
Feifeh,  we  were  informed,  receives  the  Wady  el  Ahsa, 
in  which  are  hot  springs.  The  wady  seems  to  change 
its  name  more  than  once  during  its  course,  or,  at  least, 
several  branches  to  have  different  names.  It  is  the 
recognized  boundary  between  the  districts  of  Kerak 
and  Petra — i.  e.,  between  the  ancient  Moab  and  Edom 
— and  has,  with  every  probability,  been  suggested  as 
the  "  brook  (or  wady)  Zered  "  (Deut.  ii.,  14),  or  Zared 
(Numb,  xxi.,  12),  the  limit  of  the  proper  term  of  the 
Israelites'   wanderings.      Mr.  Palmer,  who  explored 


THE   SAFIEH.  65 

the  upper  valleys  of  the  south -cast  of  the  Safieh 
much  farther  than  we  were  able  to  do,  followed  up 
the  Wady  Siddiyeh  for  some  distance,  and  traced  the 
fertilizing  Seil  Gerahi  flowing  into  it.  We  were  not 
able  to  trace  the  junction,  but  were  assured  that  the 
Siddiyeh  flowed  into  the  Feifeh,  which  we  had  crossed 
lower  down. 

We  found  that  the  belt  of  fertile,  well-watered  soil 
extends  much  farther  south  than  has  usually  been  rec- 
ognized. For  about  six  miles  south  of  the  extremity 
of  the  Dead  Sea  the  fertile  ghor  stretches,  sheltered 
under  the  mountains,  which  feed  it  with  sweet  rivu- 
lets, and  parted  off  by  a  sharp  line  from  the  desolate 
sand  plain,  without  any  blending  belt  of  half  desert 
scrub,  till  it  contracts  to  a  point,  beyond  the  entrance 
of  the  Gharundel  into  the  Sebkha.  An  exactly  sim- 
ilar extension  may  be  .noted  in  the  Seisaban,  at  the 
north-east  end  of  the  Dead  Sea.  It  has  been  suggest- 
ed that  the  Safieh  and  this  boundary  are  alluded  to 
in  Numb,  xxi.,  14.  where  the  authorized  version  reads, 
"  What  he  did  in  the  Red  Sea,  and  in  the  brooks  of 
Arnon  ;"  or,  as  "  the  Red  Sea"  is  rendered  in  the  mar- 
gin, "  Vabeh  in  Suphah" — i.  e.,  the  Sc4fieh.  Whether 
the  Hebrew  nsio  is  represented  by  the  Arabic  -xoU^, 
I  must  leave  to  Orientalists  to  decide ;  but  there  seems, 
at  first  sight,  a  probability  in  the  conjecture. 

It  was  evident  our  guards  were  anxious  to  show 
us  all  they  could,  as  every  ruin  meant  backsheesh ; 
and  it  was  equally  certain  that  no  other  remains  could 
be  traced  in  the  south  of  the  ghor.     They  spoke  of 


66  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

many  farther  north,  by  the  shore,  which  we  afterward 
saw,  but  shook  their  heads  and  waved  their  fingers 
at  the  idea  of  finding  any  thing  but  wild  boar  south- 
ward. 

Having  returned  to  camp,  we  next  set  out  on  foot 
to  examine  a  section  of  Safieh  from  east  to  west — i.  e., 
from  the  river  to  the  Dead  Sea.  It  was  a  barren  ex- 
pedition for  the  naturalist,  sportsman,  and  botanist. 
Instead  of  the  teeming  abundance  of  game  and  plants 
found  on  my  last  visit,  there  was  no  vegetation  ex- 
cept the  park-like  wilderness  of  trees  and  shrubs,  and 
bare  clearings,  hard  and  dry,,  covered  with  "dhurra," 
or  millet  stubble.  Game  there  was  none,  except  a 
few  of  the  large  Indian  turtle-dove,  for  the  pot  {Tur- 
tur  risorius).  We  roamed  about,  attended  by  a  half- 
naked  crowd  of  savages,  who  would  have  made  short 
work  of  the  property  of  any  one  they  had  caught  out 
of  sight  of  the  rest  of  the  party ;  yet  even  thus  we 
were  glad  to  escape  from  our  tents,  which  all  day 
long  were  surrounded,  and  often  entered,  by  gaping 
crowds,  perpetually  raising  wrangles,  and  stealing  any 
thing  on  which  they  could  lay  their  hands. 

We  observed  that  the  ghor  consists  of  several  dis- 
tinct zones  of  vegetation.  First,  the  gravelly  slope 
under  the  hills,  of  which  the  osher-tree  was  the  char- 
acteristic feature,  and  which  produced  but  scanty  un- 
dergrowth. Next,  the  rich  park-like  land,  the  most 
considerable  portion  of  all,  in  which  are  the  patches 
of  cultivation,  yielding  barley,  wheat,  millet,  tobacco, 
and  especially  indigo,  the  wealth  of  the  district.     The 


THE   GOVEKNOR   OF   KERAK.  67 

sugar-cane  has  long  since  disappeared.  Then  comes 
a  belt  of  scrub,  affording  only  browsing  for  goats ;  af- 
ter it,  a  thin  strip  of  large  tufts  of  a  very  tall  reedy 
grass ;  parallel  to  this,  the  next  belt  was  a  mass  of 
rushes ;  and  from  this  to  the  water's  edge  was  an  im- 
penetrable canebrake,  of  considerable  width,  in  a  deep 
swamp,  completely  barring  all  access  to  the  shore,  and 
swarming  with  wild  boar,  the  tracks  of  which  were 
seen  in  every  direction,  perfectly  secure  in  their  re- 
treat. 

On  our  return  to  camp  we  found  a  new  excitement. 
The  son  of  the  Mudjelli,  or  Governor  of  Kerak,  had 
come  down  with  twenty  horsemen,  and  was  sitting 
in  our  tent.  It  seemed  he  had  been  sent  for,  or  had 
come  unasked,  in  consequence  of  hearing  of  yester- 
day's affair,  for  local  news  travels  with  strange  rapid- 
ity in  Arab  lands,  and  had  ridden  down  in  one  day. 
The  chieftain  was,  of  course,  profuse  in  his  promises 
— depicted  in  grave  terms  the  danger  of  remaining 
here,  and  the  impossibility  of  going  to  Kerak  without 
a  guard.  He,  of  course,  must  escort  us  himself,  and 
has  brought  a  guard  for  the  purpose — a  very  great 
nuisance,  as  we  at  once  saw,  precluding  all  hope  of 
leisurely  examining  the  country,  and  making  any 
observations  and  sketching  extremely  difficult.  But 
there  was  no  help  for  it,  and  we  must  part  with  our 
good  Jehalin  men,  and  our  oily  old  friend  Hamzi,  as 
the  Kerak  people  insist  on  their  return. 

Among  other  amusing  attempts  at  extortion  was 
the  following:  One  of  our  mules  had  kicked  a  boy 


68  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

who  was  tormenting  it.     The  boy  was  not  much  the 
worse,  as  we  saw ;  but  in  the  evening  some  men  came 
up,  very  angrily  demanding  money,  in  fact  a  deodand, 
for  the  boy's  life,  as  they  said  he  was  dying.     Mr. 
Klein  and  I  offered  to  go  and  see  him ;  but  this  was 
refused ;  in  fact,  the  urchin  was  in  the  crowd  at  the 
time.     Mr.  Klein  reasoned  with  them.     '"Who  kick- 
ed the  lad?"     "The  mule." — ""Was  any  one  riding 
or  leading  the  mule  at  the  time?"     "No."— "Then 
it  was  the  act  of  the  mule  alone?"     "  Yes." — "Well, 
then,  we  have  nothing  to  do  with  it ;  and  as  the  mule 
belongs  to  Jerusalem,  you  can  not  punish  him  here, 
but  must  send  him  to  Jerusalem,  and  let  the  pasha 
put  him  in  prison  till  the  lad  recovers."     This  logic 
at  least  amused  and  silenced  them.     Mr.  Klein  was 
in  all  such  cases  an  inimitable  Arab  diplomatist,  thor- 
oughly understanding  the  humors  of  the  people,  and 
with  the  rare  tact,  patience,  and  self-possession  that 
only  a  long  experience  of  the  East  can  impart. 

February  8th. — In  the  morning,  though  we  made 
an  early  start,  it  was  not  without  an  effort  that  we 
were  able  to  escape  the  extortion  and  almost  forcible 
plunder  of  the  tribes.  The  only  exceptions  amidst 
the  general  onslaught  were  our  honest  Jehalin  guard, 
from  whom  we  had  now  to  part,  and  who,  satisfied 
with  their  agreement,  remained  bj''  our  side  to  keep 
off  intruders,  to  the  very  moment  of  our  start,  when 
we  bade  them  farewell,  and  handed  to  them  our  let- 
ters for  England.  I  have  always  found  the  Jehalin, 
if  not  a  very  intelligent,  at  least  an  honest  and  faith- 


THE  JEHALIN.  69 

ful,  tribe,  and  have  never,  during  the  weeks  I  have 
spent  among  them,  had  a  single  article  stolen  by 
them ;  and  with  all  his  faults,  there  are  many  worse 
friends,  and  less  trusty  in  the  time  of  need,  than  old 
Hamzi,  the  Hebrew  money-lender  and  Arab  attorney. 


70  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

From  the  Safieh  to  Keiak. — Wady  Gra'hhi. — Ford  of  the  Stinking 
River. — Nemeirah. — The  Waters  of  Nimrim  :  their  real  Position, 
— Not  identical  with  Nemeirah. — Poor  Ruins. — The  Brook  of  the 
Willows. — Wady  Asal. — The  Shoulder  of  the  Lisan. — Wady  Dra'a. 
— View  of  the  Lisan. — Contrast  of  the  Geology  of  the  east  and 
west  Sides  of  the  Dead  Sea. — A  charming  Glen. — Mezra'ah,  Zoar. 
—  Disputed  Identity  with  Dra'a. —  A  turbulent  Guard. —  Noctur- 
nal Alarms. — Splendid  Sunrise. — Attempted  Robbery. — Successful 
Extortion. —  Ascent  to  Kerak. —  Magnificent  Gorge. —  Geological 
Studies. — Basaltic  Streams. — El  Kubboh. — Crusading  Traditions. 
— Raynald  of  Chatillon. — Panoramic  View  of  the  Dead  Sea. — Bed- 
ouin Camps  and  Shepherds. — Wady  R'seir. — Wady  of  Kerak.— 
Rugged  Ascent. — Strange  Access  to  a  City. — Tunnel  in  the  Rock. 
— Arrival  at  Kerak. 

The  first  part  of  the  route  from  the  Safieh  to  Ke- 
rak was  not  very  interesting,  dependent,  as  the  dis- 
trict is,  upon  the  rains  and  the  letting  in  of  the  waters 
for  its  beauty.  The  scene  was  picturesque  enough 
as  we  threaded  our  way  through  the  forest.  A  strong 
escort  of  the  Beni  Atiyeh,  with  objects  of  their  own, 
had  joined  our  Kerak  guard  to  see  us  safely  to  the 
hills ;  and  a  score  of  mounted  spearmen,  with  their 
lances  gleaming  and  quivering  over  the  trees,  led  the 
van. 

The  ghor,  or  cultivatable  belt,  about  four  miles 
wide  at  our  camp,  rapidly  contracts,  and  the  strip, 
between  the  mountains  and  the  sea,  soon  narrows  to 


FORD   OF   THE   STINKING   RIVER.  71 

a  width  of  two  miles.  Each  of  the  different  zones  or 
belts  of  vegetation  disappears  in  turn.  First,  we  lost 
the  rich  park-like  wood ;  then  the  rushes ;  then  the 
canebrake ;  till,  finally,  there  was  only  a  barren  salt- 
marsh,  without  vegetation,  to  the  sea ;  and  a  gravel- 
ly dry  scrub,  with  a  few  acacia-trees  here  and  there, 
above  it,  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains. 

Near  the  north  end  of  the  Safieh  we  passed,  an 
hour  after  starting,  the  ruins  of  Um  el  Hashib,  small 
and  insignificant,  and  which  can  never  have  been 
more  than  a  village,  without  any  trace  of  a  fort.  In 
twenty  minutes  more,  soon  after  leaving  the  fertile 
land,  we  crossed  the  seil,«or  Wady  Gra'hhi,  beyond 
which  the  plain  is  barren.  Gra'hhi  has  been  suggest- 
ed as  convertible  with  Korcha,  which  name  occurs  on 
the  Moabite  Stone. 

About  half  an  hour  farther  on  we  forded  a  deep 
muddy  ditch,  Nahr  Murwhashah — i.e.,  "Stinking  Riv- 
er " — well  so  named,  in  the  fetid  mud  of  which  many 
of  the  mules  stuck  fast,  as  well  as  some  of  the  horse- 
men, who  had  to  be  carried  across  on  men's  backs. 
Beyond  the  Stinking  River  begins  a  sebkha,  or  salt- 
marsh,  far  more  disagreeable  than  that  at  the  south 
end  of  the  sea.  The  shore  is  fringed  with  drift-wood 
incrusted  with  salt ;  a  thin  incrustation  of  salt  covers 
the  plain ;  but  here  and  there  are  shallow  pools  filled 
with  vegetable  matter,  and  the  black  mud  under  the 
salt-decaying  crust  smells  horribly. 

After  the  Seil  Haneizir  is  the  Wady  N'meirah. 
The  mountains  here  more  closely  approach  the  sea, 


72  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

and  the  crest  facing  N'meirah  is  called  Jebel  Orak. 
Very  near  the  ruins,  but  a  little  above  them,  are  the 
remains  of  an  old  fort,  which  must  have  commanded 
the  road,  named  merely  Kirbet  es  Sheik.  The  ruins 
of  N'meirah — i.e.,  "The  Leopard" — are  rugged  and 
stony,  of  several  acres  in  extent,  among  a  set  of  wide 
torrent  beds,  riven  by  winter  floods,  and,  till  closely 
examined,  the  site  looks  merely  a  slightly  elevated 
space. 

It  has  usually  been  assumed  that  this  N'meirah  is 
identical  with  the  Biblical  southern  Nimrim,  or  Nim- 
rim  of  Moab  ("  the  waters  of  Nimrim  "),  Isa.  xv.,  6 ; 
Jer.  xlviii.,  34;  as  the  northern  Beth  Nimrah  is  with 
Beit  N'meir,  on  the  Jordan.  But  though  the  wady 
be  the  same,  yet  the  expression  "waters  of  Nimrim" 
would  seem  to  refer  rather  to  the  springs  or  sources 
higher  up,  than  to  a  spot  in  the  dreary  plain  near  the 
sea.  In  corroboration  of  this,  Mr.  Klein  ascertained 
from  an  intelligent  Kerak  Christian,  who  was  among 
our  guard,  that  high  up  in  the  mountains,  near  the 
source  of  the  Wady  N'meirah,  there  are  the  ruins  of 
an  old  city  like  those  of  the  other  Moabite  towns  of 
the  highlands,  bearing  the  very  name  of  the  "  Springs 
of  N'meirah,"  and  with  many  watered  gardens  still 
cultivated.  Not  far  from  the  course  of  the  N'meirah, 
also  in  the  mountains,  another  wady  was  pointed  out 
to  Mr.  Klein,  which  throws  light  on  another  Scriptural 
site  not  hitherto  identified. 

Immediately  after  the  mention  of  Nimrim,  we  find 
(Isa.  XV.,  7)  "  The  brook  of  the  willows,"  or,  as  it  is  in 


THE   LISAN.  73 

the  margin,  "  The  valley  of  the  Arabians;"  the  He- 
brew consonants  for  willows  and  Arabians  being  iden- 
tical. But  besides  the  Wady  Safsaf,  to  the  north  of 
Kerak,  noted  by  Irby  and  Mangles,  and  also  pointed 
out  to  us  when  we  were  traveling  northward,  Mr. 
Klein  had  pointed  out  to  him  another  wady,  a  little 
to  the  south  of  this,  bearing  the  identical  name  of  the 
"Wady  of  the  Willows."  This  being  toward  the 
southern  frontier,  would  meet  all  the  requirements  of 
the  problem. 

In  four  and  a  half  hours  from  the  time  of  leaving 
the  Safieh  we  reached  the  Wady  Asal,  or  "Honey 
Elver,"  a  pleasant  and  sweet  stream,  and  now  began 
to  ascend  the  shoulder  of  the  peninsula  of  the  Lisan. 
We  climbed  for  more  than  an  hour  up  a  water-riven 
gorge,  cut  through  a  mass  of  marl  and  debris,  the  old 
deposit  of  the  lake.  The  scene  was  grand,  though 
sternly  desolate  and  lifeless.  Not  a  scrap  of  vegeta- 
tion, not  even  a  straggling  salicornia,  could  be  seen. 

About  the  middle  of  the  neck  of  the  Lisan  we 
crossed  the  upper  stream  of  the  Wady  Weideh,  which 
runs  out  on  the  south  side  of  the  peninsula,  and  in 
which  the  date-palm  grows  abundantly.  Eising  still 
higher,  and  turning  nearly  due  east,  after  crossing  the 
Weideh,  we  came  to  the  Wady  Dra'a,  in  a  very  deep 
ravine,  which  runs  out  into  the  north  bay  of  the  Li- 
san. We  pitched  our  camp  close  to  the  ruins  of  Dra'a, 
from  which  the  wady  is  named,  on  a  platform  over- 
hanging the  ravine,  sloping  back  from  which  was  a 
wide  plain  with  scanty  herbage  and  many  gnarled 


7-i  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

acacia-trees.  Our  ride  had  occupied  little  more  than 
eight  hours,  and  our  barometric  readings  showed  that 
we  had  risen  650  feet  above  the  Dead  Sea,  though  we 
were  still  650  feet  below  the  sea  level. 

From  the  hill  just  behind  our  tents  we  had  a  splen- 
did view  over  the  whole  peninsula  of  the  Lisan,  a 
scene  of  utter  desolation,  one  mass  of  water- worn  cut- 
tings through  salt-marl,  without  a  trace  of  vegetation, 
while  the  nooks  at  the  north-east  and  south-east  an- 
gles beneath  it  smiled  with  luxuriant  green.  Beyond 
stretched  the  whole  western  edge  of  the  Dead  Sea  for 
nearly  forty  miles,  but  far  inferior  in  grandeur  to  the 
eastern  side.  Close  above  us  towered  the  mountains 
of  Moab,  red  and  white,  relieved  by  streaks  of  green. 

Geologically,  the  east  side  is  very  different  from  the 
Judean  hills.  The  whole  range  is  here,  excepting  su- 
perficially, new  red  sandstone,  a  formation  which  no- 
where appears  on  the  other  side.  There  is  also  a 
good  deal  of  igneous  superficial  basalt;  and  in  several 
places  porphyritic  dikes  are  shown.  The  bare  red 
sandstone  rocks  are  often  worn  into  fantastic  shapes; 
and  in  one  place,  on  a  projecting  platform,  as  we 
ascended  to  Dra'a,  the  illusion  of  a  ruined  castle  was 
complete.  Near  the  mouth  of  one  wady,  about  two 
hours  north  of  the  Safieh,  I  found  large  masses  of 
greenstone,  and  huge  boulders  of  pudding-stone,  with 
granite  pebbles  embedded.  The  height  to  which  the 
salt-marl  reaches  on  the  shoulder  of  the  Lisan  is  not 
a  little  puzzling.  Its  elevation,  as  it  leans  against  the 
base  of  the  Judean  hills  from  Jericho  down  to  the 


A  CHARMING    GLEN.  75 

Akabah,  never  reaches  more  than  four  hundred  feet. 
On  the  east  side  it  only  appears  at  the  Lisan,  and  on 
its  shoulder  we  find  it  piled  to  the  height  of  nearly 
five  hundred  feet.  Yet  there  is  no  other  indication 
of  the  old  level  of  the  sea,  during  the  period  of  its 
deposition,  having  been  at  this  height.  I  can  only 
conjecture  that  the  upheaval  of  the  eastern  range 
must  have  continued  during  this  period,  probably 
while  the  basaltic  eruptions,  which  occurred  only  on 
the  east  side,  were  in  force ;  and  that  the  marl  here, 
on  the  shoulder,  away  from  the  action  of  the  water, 
was  raised,  while  it  was  all  washed  off  from  the  sides 
of  the  precipitous  sandstone  ranges. 

Turning  to  the  nearer  foreground,  nothing  could 
be  more  lovely  than  the  glen  beneath  us,  deep,  and 
densely  wooded  with  poplar,  date-palms,  oleanders, 
and  semi-tropical  herbage,  overhanging  a  perennial 
stream  swarming  with  fish.  Truly  a  living  fountain 
is  a  wondrous  blessing  in  a  dry  and  thirsty  land. 
There  was  evidence  here  of  former  high  cultivation, 
in  carefully  cemented  channels  of  masonry  running 
from  higher  levels  of  the  stream,  and  partly  exca- 
vated, partly  built  on  the  sides  of  the  ravine,  which 
had,  like  little  mill-races,  conveyed  the  stream  to  the 
higher  grounds  above  the  glen. 

Another  relic  of  a  past  civilization  was  pointed  out 
to  us  in  the  distance,  where,  at  about  two  hours' jour- 
ney to  the  north-west,  we  could  make  out  with  our 
field-glasses  Mezra'ah,  or,  at  least,  the  black  camp  of 
Ghawarineh,  which   our  guides  told  us  was  on  the 


76  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

very  spot,  and  where  are  stated  to  be  the  old  Tawahin 
es  Suhkar,  or  "Sugar-mills."  But  as  Mr.  Palmer 
visited  Mezra'ah  (he  having  taken  the  lower  track, 
where  we  began  to  ascend  to  Dra'a),  and  does  not  men- 
tion them,  they  may  be  merely  a  repetition  of  those 
in  the  Safieh — ordinary  water-mills. 

The  ruins  of  Dra'a  itself  are  mean  and  almost  ob- 
literated, excepting  some  on  a  brow  overhanging  our 
camp,  and  which  seem  to  mark  the  position  of  the 
keep,  or  citadel,  for  the  protection  of  the  town  just 
below  it.  Little  more  of  the  town  is  left  than  a  fea- 
tureless heap  of  weathered  sandstone,  the  iartificial 
position  of  which  is  only  proved  when,  turning  over 
the  exposed  blocks,  we  find  the  dressed  and  squared 
blocks  beneath.  There  are  also  many  irregular  lines 
of  foundations  leveled  down  to  the  surface  of  the 
plain,  and  many  fragments  of  bricks  and  pottery 
strew  the  ground. 

The  chief  interest  attaching  to  this  spot  arises  from 
its  supposed  identification  by  some  writers  with  the 
Zoar  of  the  Bible  and  ancient  history.  The  mediaeval 
writers,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  place  Zoar,  as  far 
as  we  can  gather  by  a  comparison  of  their  accounts, 
on  the  road  from  the  south  end  of  the  Dead  Sea  to 
Kerak,  and  at  some  little  distance  from  the  lake,  in  a 
spot  abounding  with  palm-trees.  It  was  an  episcopal 
see  under  the  Archbishop  of  Petra,  and  its  bishops 
sat  in  the  Council  of  Chalcedon  (a.d.  451),  and  in  the 
Synod  of  Constantinople  (a.d.  536).  It  was  in  the 
province  of  Palestina  Tertia,  which  included  Kerak 


dra'a  suggestive  of  zoar.  77 

and  Areopolis.  No  great  violence  is  done  to  orthog- 
raphy in  imagining  a  change  from  the  guttural  He- 
brew Zoar  ("i?i:s)  to  the  guttural  Arabic  Dra'a  (*i^). 
It  is  difficult  to  place  the  Zoar  of  these  writers  any- 
where else  than  here.  But  the  name  exists  elsewhere, 
and  we  found  on  the  plains  eastward  of  Main  another 
ruined  city,  with  the  remains  of  churches  and  other 
considerable  buildings,  also  called  Dra'a.  This  latter 
may  more  probably  be  the  bishopric  of  Eusebius. 

Still,  admitting  the  identity  of  this  Dra'a  with  the 
Christian  and  mediaeval  Zoar,  it  seems  impossible,  on 
any  reasonable  theory,  also  to  identify  it  with  the 
Zoar  of  Scripture.  There  is  no  imaginable  situation 
in  which  we  can  place  the  cities  of  the  plain,  that  will 
meet  the  conditions  of  the  problem,  if  this  be  Bela  or 
Zoar,  as  it  would  be  too  far  distant  from  any  of  them. 
But  this  need  not  cause  much  difficulty,  as  there  are 
very  many  instances,  several  of  which  have  been  al- 
ready referred  to,  where  the  same  name  is  applied  to 
sites  and  wadys  on  opposite  sides  of  the  sea,  and  gen- 
erally to  those  nearly  in  the  same  parallel  of  latitude. 
It  would  very  well  harmonize  with  ordinary  usage 
if  there  were  another  Zoar  at  or  near  Engedi,  as  has 
been  conjectured  from  Deut.  xxxiv.,  3,  and  other  pas- 
sages. 

Archaeological  speculations  were  sadly  interrupted 
by  the  disturbances  raised  by  our  savage  guard,  and 
which  were  kept  up  incessantly  through  the  night. 
We  had  given  them  money  to  buy  themselves  a  goat 
for  supper,  from  a  camp  of  Arabs  near  us.     The  two 


78  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

brothers  of  the  young  mudjelli  kept  the  money,  and 
there  was  a  free  fight  over  the  matter  at  our  tent 
doors,  with  knives  and  pistols  drawn.  This  was  at 
length  appeased,  and  the  chief,  for  security  from  his 
friends,  made  our  servants'  tent  his  sleeping- place. 
During  the  night  our  ruffian  companions  kept  amus- 
ing themselves  by  firing  off  guns,  from  time  to  time, 
close  to  our  ears.  Meantime  a  lurking  thief  had  cut 
the  pickets  of  the  horses,  and  was  quietly  leading  off 
Hayne's  steed,  when  he  was  detected  and  stopped  by 
a  muleteer,  fortunately  more  on  the  alert  than  the 
Keraki. 

With  all  this  we  had  but  little  sleep,  and  before 
sunrise  we  went  down  to  the  stream,  and,  under  the 
dense  shade  of  the  oleanders,  had  a  delicious  bathe. 
I  then  climbed,  before  the  sun  had  overtopped  the 
eastern  mountains,  to  the  brow  of  the  platform  above 
our  camp,  among  the  heaps  of  old  Zoar.  The  view 
was  magnificent  in  stern  grandeur.  The  whole  Lisan, 
in  its  desolate  expanse,  was  spread  at  our  feet,  and 
the  sun,  whose  rays  had  not  yet  touched  us  in  the 
shadow  of  the  mountains,  was  gilding  the  tops  of  the 
western  ridge  of  the  Dead  Sea  with  a  golden  pink, 
and  with  a  rich  gray  blue  the  range  of  the  mountains 
of  Judah  behind  them.  As  Mr.  Palmer  truly  says, 
"  The  coloring  of  the  Dead  Sea  and  its  neighborhood, 
when  the  atmosphere  is  clear,  is  simply  magnificent." 
We  could  trace  the  course  of  the  Wady  Kerak  to  the 
north  of  us,  where  it  rifts  the  shoulder  of  the  Lisan 
from  east  to  west;  and  then  turning  sharply  north- 


ASCENT   TO    KERAK.  79 

ward,  after  it  has  been,  as  it  appeared  to  us,  joined 
by  the  Wady  Dra'a,  it  opens  out  into  a  wide  plain  of 
acacia  scrub  with  abundant  pasturage.  A  perennial 
stream  runs  through  it,  fringed  with  a  border  of  date- 
palms  and  oleanders,  the  source  of  life  and  wealth  to 
the  district,  now  called  the  Mezra'ah.  There  was  a 
very  large  camp  of  Beni  Atiyeh,  and  herds  of  goats, 
close  below  us;  and  through  our  glasses  we  could 
descry  much  more  extensive  camps  in  the  Mezra'ah, 
which  was  powdered  over  with  scattered  flocks  and 
herds. 

And  now  began  a  scene.  Seventy  pounds  was  re- 
quired for  the  expenses  of  the  horsemen  from  Kerak, 
which  must  be  paid  and  distributed  at  once.  The 
spearmen  and  mounted  gunners  stood  round  us,  and 
the  climax  came  when  the  young  mudjelli  rode  up 
threateningly  to  the  head  muleteer,  and,  drawing  his 
sword,  forbade  a  mule  to  be  loaded  till  his  demand 
had  been  met,  intimating  that,  in  case  of  further  de- 
lay, he  should  turn  upon  us  the  Beni  Atiyeh  from 
the  camp  below.  We  were  fairly  in  the  trap ;  there 
was  nothing  for  it  but  to  yield;  and  at  length,  under 
protest,  and  telling  them  they  were  highwaymen,  we 
were  glad  to  reduce  the  sum  to  twenty-five  napoleons 
on  account. 

The  ascent  from  Dra'a  to  Kerak  occupied  five  and 
a  quarter  hours',  steady  riding  without  a  halt.  At 
Dra'a  we  were  650  feet  below  the  sea  level,  and  by 
our  barometer  we  measured  the  ascent  thence  to 
Kerak  to  be  3720  feet,  making  that  city  8070  feet 

6 


80  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

above  the  Mediterranean.  Everywhere  the  gorges 
up  which  we  climbed  were  deeply  riven  ;  and  the 
prospects,  wide  and  vast,  with  deep  chasms  and  tow- 
ering precipices,  quite  equaled  Alpine  scenery  in  their 
effect  under  a  bright  sun,  though  very  different  in 
character.  The  rich  coloring  of  red,  black,  and  white, 
with  green  patches,  was  exquisite;  and  geological  for- 
mation almost  effects  here  what  snow  and  ice  do  for 
Alpine  scenery.* 

On  the  way-side  is  a  ruined  fort,  hitherto  unnoticed, 
and  called  El  Kubboh.  There  is  a  pointed  arch,  and 
the  character  of  the  architecture  is  Crusading,  corrob- 
oratino-  the  local  tradition  which  makes  it  the  strong- 

*  The  ascent  was  also  a  good  geological  study.  We  had  left  the 
post-tertiary  marl  below  Dra'a ;  and  then  for  a  little  distance  east- 
ward the  red  sandstone  is  superficial,  but  is  soon  covered  by  the  lime- 
stone, the  same  as  that  of  Western  Palestine.  The  superincumbent 
limestone  was  not  conformable  with  the  sandstone  in  its  stratification. 
Another  point  of  importance  is,  that  for  seven  or  eight  miles  from  the 
shore  eastward  the  strata  dip  to  the  west  at  an  average  angle  of  60° ; 
while  farther  east,  so  far  as  I  could  ascertain  where  the  sections  are 
shown,  I  noticed  that  the  strata  are  nearly,  or  quite,  horizontal.  I 
was  pleased  to  find  my  former  theory  of  the  synclinal  dip  of  the  Jor- 
dan valley  thus  corroborated  in  the  only  part  where  I  had  not  hither- 
to had  an  opportunity  of  making  observations,  especially  as  the  agen- 
cies which  formed  the  valley  seem  to  have  been  in  more  active  opera- 
tion in  this  part  of  it  than  in  any  other.  The  limestone  was  in  many 
places  strangely  contorted,  and  this  chiefly  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  basaltic  outbreaks  which  frequently  disturb  the  stratification  on 
the  east  side,  but  of  which  no  trace  is  found  westward  in  the  lowei" 
Jordan.  When  we  had  risen  2000  feet,  the  average  thickness  of  the 
limestone  seemed  to  be  about  1500  feet ;  and  from  this  point  its  de- 
nudation westward  begins. 


RAYXALD   OF   CHATILLON.  81 

hold  of  a  Christian  sheik  of  the  olden  time.  The 
position  is  admirable  as  a  key  of  the  pass,  and  well 
suited  for  a  robber  chieftain,  for  this  was  the  only 
practicable  route  to  Kerak  by  the  south,  the  other 
path  from  Usdum,  up  the  Wady  Tufileh,  being  too 
rugged  for  baggage  animals. 

One  could  not  but  recall  here  the  times  of  the 
"  Talisman,"  and  the  romantic  story  of  the  wild  chief- 
tain of  the  Crusading  outposts,  Raynald  of  Chatillon, 
lord  of  Kerak.  Doubtless  some  of  his  minions  held 
this  post,  and  wielded  their  power  with  as  few  scru- 
ples as  did  their  lord,  when,  issuing  from  his  keep  of 
Kerak,  he  sacked  the  Damascus  caravan  in  time  of 
peace. 

It  was  this  act  of  lawless  wrong  which  exasperated 
Saladin  to  the  wars  of  the  last  Crusade,  after  his  vain 
demands  of  redress  from  Raynald.  Soon  followed 
the  final  and  fatal  battle  of  Hattin  (5th  July,  1187), 
when  the  doom  of  the  Crusades  was  sealed  in  sight, 
of  Gennesaret,  and  Raynald  himself,  with  the  King 
of  Jerusalem  and  the  Grand  Master  of  the  Templars, 
were  among  the  captives.  The  perfidious  chieftain 
was  slain  in  cold  blood  by  the  conqueror,  who  had 
sworn  to  avenge  his  wrongs  with  his  own  hands; 
and  in  three  months  Jerusalem  opened  its  gates  to 
the  Saracen.  Still,  with  all  his  excesses,  there  is  a 
halo 'of  romance  about  this  daring  Frank,  who  so 
long  held  his  outpost  on  the  very  frontier  of  Arabia, 
unsupported  by  any  base  for  supplies  nearer  than 
Jerusalem.     And  this  rugged  pass,  too,  and  the  open 


82  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

desert  of  the  Sebkha,  were  his  only  line  of  communi- 
cation with  the  world  behind  him. 

Shortly  after  Kubboh,  we  passed  an  outcrop  of  ba- 
salt through  the  limestone,  2050  feet  above  the  Dead 
Sea,  the  sandstone  being  now  far  below  us.  Here 
we  paused.  Jebel  el  Haditha,  a  bold  peak,  towered 
to  the  south.  We  stood  on  the  crest  of  a  range  of 
terraces,  with  a  panorama  of  the  Dead  Sea  before  us. 
The  whole  Lisan,  with  Points  Molyneux  and  Costi- 
gan,  plainly  marked,  lay  between.  Jebel  Usdum, 
Sebbeh,  Engedi,  and  the  brown  ridge  of  Judean 
mountains,  Hebron,  and  the  hills  about  Jerusalem, 
were  all  in  sight ;  while,  on  the  other  side,  we  looked 
down  into  the  tremendous  Wady  of  Kerak,  some  1800 
feet  of  nearly  sheer  precipice  on  the  opposite  side,  the 
lower  500  feet  being  red  sandstone,  with  the  upper 
part  white  chalk  and  limestone,  pleasantly  relieved 
by  the  beading  of  black  lines  of  flint.  To  the  south 
was  pointed  out  the  "  Wady  of  the  Willows ;"  and 
among  other  names,  that  of  Mochrath,  one  of  the  un- 
identified names  occurring  on  the  Moabite  Stone. 

Hence  our  road  was  up  the  south  side  of  the  Wady 
Kerak.  We  defiled  in  long  line  up  a  narrow  pass 
among  rocks,  with  many  green  patches,  where  goats 
seemed  to  be  hanging  to  the  mountain  side,  as  they 
browsed  in  single  file.  A  dozen  resolute  men  behind 
these  rocks  might  arrest  the  march  of  an  army.  The 
valley  gradually  widened  above  ;  and  here  and  there; 
among  the  green  patches.  Bedouin  tents,  looking  like 
black   spots   on   the  steep  sides,  could  be  detected. 


TUNNEL   IN   THE   ROCK. 


83 


Many  of  these  belong  to  the  Kerak  people,  a  large 
portion  of  whom  camp  out  with  their  herds  during 
the  summer  months.  Here  the  bottom  of  the  wady, 
which  was  still  very  narrow,  began  to  be  cultivated 
with  olives,  figs,  pomegranates,  and  a  few  vineyards 
and  patches  of  corn. 


TUNNEL  ENTKANCE  TO  KEKAK. 


We  halted  at  a  platform  formed  by  the  opening  of 
the  Wady  E'seir,  and  in  which  a  pretty  little  spring 
bubbles  out  among  the  grass.  Close  to  this  spot  a 
number  of  men  suddenly  appeared,  yelling  and  shout- 
ing on  the  rocks  above  us  ;  but  though  they  proved 
to  be  only  shepherds,  who  wanted  to  know  our  busi- 
ness and  our  destination,  we  saw  how  necessary  an 


84  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

armed  guard  was  in  such  a  place,  to  secure  the  bag- 
gage from  plunder,  as  all  whom  we  met  carried  fire- 
locks. 

Soon  Kerak  stood  towering  before  us,  with  its  line 
of  wall  and  splendid  castles,  the  southern  one  being 
of  very  great  extent.  We  had  now  to  descend  into 
the  valley,  in  order  to  ascend  the  opposite  cliff  to 
reach  the  city.  It  was  almost  an  hour's  climb  from 
the  stream  to  the  tunnel  entrance  of  Kerak,  and  this 
on  a  zigzag  path  along  the  side  of  a  rugged  slope, 
strewn  with  boulders,  and  so  steep  that  in  places  it 
was  scarcely  possible  to  sit  our  horses.  When  near 
the  top  of  the  cone,  the  path  abruptly' turns  into  an 
arched  tunnel,  up  which  we  stumble  in  the  darkness 
for  more  than  eighty  yards,  and  then  emerge  into  the 
open  space  or  market  of  Kerak. 


FORTRESS   OF   KERAK.  85 


CHAPTER  V. 

Kerak. — A  natural  Fortress :  its  Height,  Position,  Form,  Area,  For- 
tifications.— Accessible  only  by  Tunnels. — The  Castle  of  Bybai's. 
— The  great  Castle :  its  Shape,  Moat,  Cistern,  Crypt,  Chapel,  Gate- 
ways.— Occupation  of  Castle  by  Ibrahim  Pasha. — "Water  Supply. 
— Mosque. — Ancient  Basilica. — Our  Camp  in  the  Castle  of  By  bars. 
— Greek  School-master. —  A  Friend  in  need. —  Kerak  Interior. — 
Roman  Pavement. — Ancient  Bath. — Antiques  and  Coins. — Chris- 
tian Quarter. — Greek  Church. — School  and  Bibles. — Threats  of  the 
Chiefs. — Ransom  demanded. — Find  ourselves  Prisoners. — Messen- 
ger to  Jerusalem. — Every  Man  his  own  Thief-catcher. — Value  of 
Pork. — Daoud's  Stratagem. — Midnight  Interview. — Welcome  Aid. 
— Arrival  of  the  Beni  Sakk'r,  Sheik  Zadam. — The  Tables  turned. 
— A  Sunday  under  Arrest. — Arabic  Sei'vice. — Greek  Christians. — 
Demands  on  the  Hakim. — View  from  the  Castle  Wall. — Relations 
of  Kerak  and  the  Beni  Sakk'r. — Excursion  under  Guard. — Our 
Letter  discovered. — Renewed  Threats. 

Before  relating  our  adventures  at  Kerak,  it  may 
be  well  to  attempt  some  description  of  this  remarka- 
ble fortress,  of  which,  until  recently,  the  concise  jour- 
nal of  Burckhardt,  and  the  modest  and  singularly  ac- 
curate narrative  of  Irby  and  Mangles,  were  the  only 
easily  accessible  records,  since  both  De  Saulcy  and 
Lynch  have  dismissed  Kerak  very  shortly.  The  po- 
sition is  so  strong  by  nature  that  it  would  be  seized 
upon  as  a  fortress  from  the  very  earliest  times.  A 
lofty  brow  pushes  forward  to  the  west  with  a  flatten- 
ed space  on  its  crest,  a  sort  of  head,  behind  which  the 
neck  at  the  south-east  contracts,  and  gives  it  the  form 


86  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

of  a  peninsula,  at  the  same  time  that  the  isthmus,  if  I 
may  so  call  it,  rapidly  slopes  down  before  rising  to 
reunite  to  its  shoulder  the  yet  loftier  hill  to  the  east. 
The  platform  of  Kerak  stands  3720  feet  above  the  sea 
level ;  yet  on  all  sides  it  is  commanded,  some  of  the 
neighboring  heights  being  over  4050  feet  high  (bar- 
ometric). It  is,  however,  severed  everywhere,  except- 
ing at  the  neck,  and  also  in  a  less  degree  at  the  north- 
west angle,  from  the  encircling  range.  Two  deep 
wadies,  from  1000  to  1350  feet  deep,  with  steeply 
scarped  or  else  rugged  sides,  flank  it  north  and  south, 
the  Wady  Hammad  to  the  south,  and  Wady  Kerak 
to  the  north,  which  unite  about  a  mile  to  the  west 
of  the  city,  and  form  the  ravine  which  we  ascended. 
The  escarpment  of  the  third  side  of  the  triangle  is 
formed  by  the  Wady  Kobeisheh,  which,  starting  from 
the  depression  of  what  I  have  called  the  neck,  rapid- 
ly descends  to  the  Wady  Kerak. 

The  platform  of  the  city,  thus  surrounded,  is  toler- 
ably level,  by  art  or  nature,  measuring  from  800  to 
1000  yards  on  each  face  of  the  triangle,  the  north-east 
side  being  the  longest.  The  v/hole  place  has  former- 
ly been  surrounded  by  a  strong  wall,  of  which  a  con- 
siderable portion  remains  everywhere.  In  no  place 
did  I  observe  it  to  be  entirely  demolished,  while  in 
some  parts  it  is  still  perfect.  The  wall,  with  its 
smoothly-sloped  facing,  fills  up  any  irregularities  in 
the  native  rock,  which  is  scarped  a  considerable  way 
down,  especially  at  the  angles,  with  a  very  well-exe- 
cuted revetment,  wherever  requisite.     This  lower  por- 


FORTKESS   OF   KERAK. 


87 


tion  of  the  work  appears  to  be  older  than  the  Crusad- 
ing or  Saracenic  times;  and  the  wide  shallow  bevel 
suggests  the  Herodian,  or  a  yet  earlier  epoch.  The 
upper  part  of  the  fortress  is  claimed  by  the  Moham- 
medans in  several  inscriptions,  which  are  palpably  of 
later  date  than  the  structures  themselves. 


NO.  4. 


KEKAK    CASTLE   WALLS,  WEST   SIDE. 


There  have  been  originally  only  two  entrances  to 
Kerak— one  to  the  north-west,  the  other  on  the  far- 
ther side,  and  both  through  tunnels  in  the  side  of  the 
cliff,  emerging  on  the  platform  of  the  town.     Of  late 


88  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB, 

years  paths  have  been  made  over  the  ruinous  walls 
in  two  places ;  but  these  can  only  be  scrambled  over 
by  foot  passengers.  They  are  both  on  the  north-east 
face.  To  an  enemy  Kerak  is  utterly  inaccessible,  ex- 
cept by  the  winding  paths  at  the  western  and  north- 
east sides.  The  road  from  the  east,  by  which  we 
traveled,  suddenly  turns  as  we  are  under  the  north- 
west castle,  and  is  cut  to  a  great  depth  immediately 
under  the  angle,  while  the  great  castle  wall,  with  loop- 
holes and  parapets,  towers  straight  up  its  whole  width, 
leaving  any  one  approaching  by  this  great  rock-hewn 
ditch  at  the  mercy  of  the  garrison. 

Having  passed  through  this  cutting,  we  turn  sharp- 
ly to  the  left,  and  creep  along  the  rugged  path,  com- 
pletely exposed  to  those  above,  and  where  horsemen 
or  footmen  can  only  mount  slowly  in  single  file,  till 
we  enter  a  tunnel,  the  gate-way  of  Kerak,  apparently 
partly  natural,  but  with  a  well-built  pointed  arch  over 
its  entrance,  above  which  a  stone,  manifestly  of  a  later 
date,  with  an  Arabic  inscription,  has  been  let  into  the 
face  of  the  rock.  The  inscription  is  only  partially  de- 
faced, but  has  not,  I  believe,  been  yet  translated.  Mr. 
Buxton  obtained  an  admirable  photograph  of  this  tun- 
nel entrance.  The  arch  is  certainly  older  than  the 
Saracenic  occupation,  and  Mr.  Fergusson  has  express- 
ed his  decided  opinion  that,  though  slightly  pointed, 
it  is  yet  Eoman. 

The  tunnel  continues  winding,  and  steeply  ascend- 
ing, for  eighty  paces,  when  we  suddenly  emerge,  and 
find  ourselves  on  the  open  platform  of  the  town,  very 


CASTLE    OF    BYBARS.  89 

near  the  north-west  castle.  This  tower,  which  is  call- 
ed the  Castle  of  By  bars,  or  of  "  El  Melek,"  from  an 
Arabic  inscription  of  great  size  let  into  its  wall,  as- 
cribing the  erection  to  "  El  Melek  "  (the  king)  Bybars, 
is  a  massive  wall  forming  three  sides  of  a  trapezium, 
the  long  wall  stretching  ninety  yards,  and  each  of  the 
flanking  or  re-entering  walls  extending  in  an  obtuse 
angle  from  it  for  fifteen  yards.  At  the  inner  extrem- 
ity of  these  walls  are  still  more  lofty  towers,  in  which 
are  staircases.  The  wall  is  twenty-seven  feet  thick  in 
its  lower  stories.  The  upper  stories  are  studded  with 
long  loop-holes,  and  an  open  ledge  for  the  defenders 
to  communicate  along  the  whole.  The  arched  loop- 
holes and  chambers  are  now,  for  the  most  part,  con- 
verted into  rude  store-houses,  built  up  with  rough  ma- 
sonry ;  and  the  ledges,  some  100  feet  high,  are  the  fa- 
vorite lounge  of  the  boys  and  men  of  Kerak.  Above 
this  the  wall  contracts;  there  are  loop-holes  again; 
and  a  platform  outside,  without  battlements,  runs  along 
near  the  top,  about  seven  feet  wide.  The  stones  for 
this  enormous  construction  have  evidently  been  ob- 
tained from  the  great  rock  -  hewn  fosse  below,  up 
which  we  rode,  and  which  has  been  a  most  conven- 
ient and  inexhaustible  quarry,  thus  doubly  increas- 
ing the  strength  of  the  place. 

The  inscription  running  along  the  inner  face,  at- 
tributing the  building  to  Bybars,  is  flanked  on  either 
side  by  two  lions  rampant,  which  seem  part  of  the 
original  structure,  which  the  inscription  is  not  (for 
the  stones  do  not  fit  well,  and  one  has  been  inserted 


90 


THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 


by  the  ignorant  workmen  upside  down).  These  lions, 
apparently  older  than  the  Arabic  letters,  suggested 
to  us  the  idea  that  they  are  possibly  part  of  the  Cru- 
saders' work,  not  removed  by  Saladin  or  Bybars. 


NO.  6. 


KERAK.      crusaders'    FORT. 


The  fort  at  the  north-east  is  comparatively  insig- 
nificant, as  the  natural  fortress  was  tliere  inaccessible. 
But  far  more  important  and  extensive  is  the  great 
castle  at  the  southern  angle.  This  being  the  most 
exposed  point,  owing  to  the  shallowness  of  the  Wady 
Kobeisheh,  has  been  the  most  carefully  fortified.  It 
is  cut  off  from  the  shoulder  of  the  adjoining  hill  by 


MASSIVE   CONSTRUCTION.  91 

an  immense  scarped  ditch,  just  as  is  the  other  castle; 
but  there  is  no  passage  this  way,  and  a  wall  of  native 
rock  has  been  left  at  each  end,  so  as  to  form,  in  fact, 
a  gigantic  cistern.  Beside  this,  there  is  an  immense 
hewn  ditch  100  feet  wide.  The  outer  wall  of  this 
castle  is  constructed  on  the  same  principle  as  the 
north-west  tower,  but  of  much  greater  thickness  and 
height,  its  outer  length  being  eighty-seven  yards. 

But  this  is,  as  it  were,  only  the  flanking  work  of  a 
great  fortress;  for  such  this  castle  is,  entirely  inde- 
pendent of  the  town,  from  which  it  is  separated  on 
the  north  by  a  wide  and  deep  ditch,  now  much  filled 
m  with  rubbish.  It  forms  an  irregular  quadrilateral, 
the  northern  side,  toward  the  city,  being  nearly  dou- 
ble the  length  of  the  south  wall,  and  its  width  across 
being  from  220  to  250  yards.  The  interior  of  this 
block  is  one  mass  of  vaults,  arches,  and  galleries,  all 
of  most  massive  construction,  with  apparently  only 
two  open  couit-yards. 

The  most  interesting  portion  of  the  building,  and 
one  which  tells  the  history  of  its  construction,  is  a 
crypt  chapel,  with  an  eastern  apse,  ninety  feet  long. 
It  is  reached  by  descending  a  circular  staircase,  which 
lands  us  half-way  down  the  side  of  the  chapel;  and 
there  is  also  a  staircase  leading  to  the  roof,  over  which 
have  evidently  been  other  buildings.  There  are  four 
very  small  narrow  lancet  windows  high  up ;  and 
lamps  must  certainly  have  been  required  for  worship 
here.  Some  fragments  of  columns  are  built  sideways 
in  the  wall,  and  also  some  remains  of  inscriptions. 


92  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

There  are  many  patches  of  fresco  still  to  be  seen  on 
the  walls,  but  all  in  a  state  of  sad  decay.  None  of 
the  figures  can  be  traced  entire.  There  was  one  head 
of  a  saint,  with  a  corona,  left  on  the  plaster. 

Besides  the  chapel,  there  are  long  ranges  of  build- 
ings like  casemates,  magazines,  and  barracks,  story 
above  story,  most  solidly  vaulted.  These  seem  to 
have  been  four  or  five  stories,  or  perhaps  more,  in 
height;  but  the  upper  parts  are  now  much  ruined. 
The  different  gate-ways,  with  all  their  appliances  of 
defense  on  the  side  of  the  town,  still  remain,  and  it 
was  necessary  to  pass  through  three  of  these  in  order 
to  reach  the  central  court.  Under  the  great  crypts 
are  numerous  vaulted  and  cemented  reservoirs,  capa- 
ble of  containing  an  ample  supply  of  water  for  a  long 
siege.  Altogether,  the  great  castle  of  Kerak  is  by  far 
the  grandest  monument  of  crusading  energy  now  ex- 
isting. It  was  built  under  King  Fulco,  by  one  of  the 
predecessors  of  Raynald  of  Chatillon,  about  a.d.  1131, 
and  strengthened  under  the  auspices  of  Godfrey  of 
Boulogne;  and  in  a.d.  1183  it  baffled  the  assaults  of 
Sal  ad  in. 

The  castle  has  more  than  once  proved  its  invulner- 
ability against  attacks  from  the  town ;  while,  on  the 
other  hand,  its  possessors  have  found  its  defenses  turn- 
ed to  their  own  defeat.  Thus  Ibrahim  Pasha,  during 
his  conquest  of  Syria,  in  a.d.  1844,  was  never  able  to 
take  Kerak,  whose  proud  boast  is  that  it  yet  remains 
a  virgin  city.  Yet  his  troops  occupied  this  castle  for 
months,  and  finally,  compelled  by  starvation  to  evac- 


WATER   SUPPLY,  93 

uate  it,  were  for  the  most  part  slaughtered  on  the  oth- 
er side  of  the  Wady  Kobeisheh. 

Between  the  two  great  fortifications  of  Kerak  there 
is  understood  to  be  still  an  under-ground  communica- 
tion, and  there  are  deep  wells  sunk  in  the  castle.  For 
the  supply  of  water  for  the  civil  inhabitants,  not  only 
do  deep  wells  and  arched  cisterns  abound  every- 
where, but  there  is  an  enormous  open  reservoir  very 
near  the  Castle  of  Bybars,  apparently,  from  its  mass- 
ive masonry,  of  Koman  work,  which,  at  the  time  of 
our  visit,  was  partly  filled  with  water.  There  are 
also  some  fine  perennial  springs  in  the  sides  of  the 
valleys  close  below,  four  of  which  ate  near  the  town, 
and  most  copious.  Ain  Sara  is  used,  close  to  its 
source,  for  turning  water-mills. 

Among  the  other  antiquities  of  Kerak  the  most 
interesting  is  a  ruined  mosque,  which  has  evidently 
been  previously  a  basilica.  The  roof  is  gone,  and  the 
building  is  now  used  as  a  Moslem  cemetery ;  but  the 
pillars  and  arches  remain.  The  door- way  is  pointed, 
or  Saracenic,  and  the  upper  part  of  the  arch  is  filled 
in  with  masonry,  which  has  once  been  covered  with 
Christian  symbols.  These  have  been  chiseled  out, 
and  an  Arabic  inscription  inserted ;  but  the  Moslems 
have  left  two  symbols — viz.,  the  cup  sculptured  on 
each  side  of  their  inscription — attesting  the  former  use 
of  the  place  as  a  Christian  church. 

So  soon  as  we  emerged  from  the  tunnel  into  Kerak, 
we  were  directed  by  the  chief  to  camp  within  the 
Castle  of  Bybars.     The  locality  was  certainly,  in  it- 

7 


94  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

self,  a  favorable  one.  The  present  inhabited  part  of 
Kerak  does  not  extend  very  near  it,  and  we  were  at 
least  securely  sheltered  from  the  west,  though  scarce- 
ly prepared  for  the  pitiless  north  wind,  which  after- 
ward swept  in  eddies  round  the  open  court.  Soon 
our  tents  were  got  up,  while  an  eager  crowd  of  men 
and  boys  watched  our  proceedings  from  the  ledges  of 
the  fortress  overhead,  and  looked  curiously  down  as 
we  toiled  away  with  our  men  at  clearing  the  great 
stones  to  drive  in  the  pegs.  The  mules  and  horses 
were  picketed  for  security  under  the  wall  within  the 
line  of  tents.  Our  view  toward  the  great  castle  at 
the  other  end  of  the  place  was  uninterrupted,  as  the 
scattered  town  consists  entirely  of  flat,  mud-roofed 
houses,  so  constructed  as  to  appear  all  under-ground, 
with  no  streets  or  lanes  between  them,  and  distributed 
in  such  a  way  that  it  is  sometimes  difficult  to  know 
whether  we  are  walking  on  the  ground  or  over  a  house. 
We  had  scarcely  arrived  when  a  young  man  of 
pleasing  countenance,  in  a  shabby  Greek  ecclesiastical 
costume,  came  forward,  and  was  affectionately  greeted 
by  Daoud  and  Mr.  Klein.  He  was  the  master  of  the 
Greek  Christian  school,  a  native  of  Kerak,  and  had 
been  educated  at  the  convent  of  the  Holy  Cross  at 
Jerusalem,  where  he  was  a  frequent  visitor  of  Mr. 
Klein — very  well  disposed,  a  student  of  his  Bible,  and 
well  inclined  to  Protestantism.  He  was  a  j^outh  of 
thought  and  study,  in  which  he  stands  here,  indeed, 
alone.  He  was  accompanied  by  the  priest,  a  dull, 
heavy-looking  man,  much  inferior  to  him  in  every 


A  FRIENDLY   OFFER. 


95 


way.  He  offered  to  lionize  us,  and  advised  our  start- 
ing at  once.  We,  having  reason  to  suspect  coming 
difficulties,  felt  no  time  was  to  be  lost,  left  tent-pitch- 
ing and  unpacking  to  our  people,  and  were  off  with- 
out delay.     We  walked  direct  to  the  great  castle,  fol- 


KEKAK  HOUSE-TOPS. 


lowed  and  jostled  by  scowling  crowds,  who  repeated- 
ly asked  if  we  expected  to  be  allowed  to  see  the  castle 
without  paying  for  it;  but  several  native  Christians 
(of  whom  there  are  variously  estimated  to  be  from 
800  to  1600  in  Kerak)  joined  us,  and  we  took  no  no- 
tice of  our  persistent  tormentors. 


96  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB, 

After  visiting  and  hastily  noting  down  the  fea- 
tures of  the  castle,  the  school-master  pointed  out  to  us 
the  course  of  the  connecting  tunnel  between  the  two 
castles,  driven  through  the  rock  on  the  south  side, 
just  above  the  massive  escarpment.  We  then  crossed 
to  the  Moslem  quarter.  He  beckoned  us  to  follow 
him  into  a  house.  We  descended  a  sort  of  sloping 
rubbish-heap  into  a  narrow  alley.  A  Kerak  house 
is  entered  by  a  low  door- way  four  feet  high,  generally 
arched,  of  dry  stones,  but  often  with  a  massive  lintel, 
taken  from  some  more  ancient  building.  This  door- 
way opens  into  a  small  and  filthy  court-yard,  with 
numbers  of  projecting  stones,  on  each  of  which  a  lit- 
tle conical  cake  of  cow-dung  is  placed  to  dry — the 
only  fuel  of  treeless  Kerak.  Underneath  these  runs 
along  one  side  a  long  trough  formed  of  dried  mud, 
the  manger  for  goats  and  donkeys.  Another  door, 
four  feet  high,  opens  into  the  principal  room,  the  liv- 
ing room  of  the  family.  It  has  neither  windows  nor 
chimney,  and  is  roofed  by  a  succession  of  dry  stone 
arches,  with  slabs  or  rafters  laid  across  them.  Exact- 
ly in  the  centre  is  a  large  saucer-shaped  scallop  of 
mud,  the  fire-place  and  oven,  and  the  fumes  from 
which  have  no  other  exit  than  the  door.  I  need  not 
say  how  blackened  are  the  faces  and  every  thing  else 
in  this  smoke-trap.  Opening  out  of  this  room  are 
several  dark  cells,  some  of  them  evidently  the  crypts 
of  the  more  ancient  city — the  store-houses  of  the  fam- 
ily. Furniture  there  is  none.  All  sit  and  sleep  on 
the  floor. 


ROMAN   REMAINS.  97 

We  soon  found  out  why  the  school-master  had 
brought  us  into  this  house.  The  floor  of  the  hovel 
was  a  beautiful,  tesselated  pavement  of  marble,  quite 
perfect,  with  the  marble  bases  of  some  old  columns 
still  in  their  places  at  the  edge  of  the  pavement.  Only 
the  centre  of  the  pattern  had  been  broken  up,  to  make 
way  for  the  hearth.  It  was  probably  part  of  some 
Roman  baths,  for  in  the  next  house  were  the  remains 
of  the  marble  bath-room,  which  now  formed  the  yard, 
with  the  water-pipes  still  protruding  from  the  walls. 

We  had  several  other  proofs  of  Roman  occupation 
brought  to  us  in  the  course  of  our  stay.  Mr.  Klein 
had  presented  to  him  by  one  of  the  Christians  two 
very  fine  and  perfect  Eoman  lamps,  which  he  kindlv 
gave  me;  and  I  purchased  several  imperial  coins  of 
gold  and  silver,  besides  a  gold  medal  of  Helena.  The 
gold  coins  were  all  sold  to  me  for  rather  less  than 
their  value  as  old  gold.  I  also  collected  about  fifty 
much-worn  brass  coins,  from  Hadrian  down  to  the  By- 
zantine Maurice,  and  two  silver  pennies  of  Baldwin, 
king  of  Jerusalem.  We  also  obtained  a  few  cameos, 
to  which  the  finders  did  not  attach  much  value,  and 
which  were  all  chipped. 

The  present  Christian  quarter  is  to  the  north  of  the 
town ;  and  there  we  visited  the  Greek  church,  a  solid, 
respectable  building,  with  two  aisles  and  an  apse,  and 
massive  square  pillars  like  an  old  Norman  church. 
At  the  west  end  of  the  nave  is  a  well  in  the  floor,  still 
used.  On  the  rood-screen  were  several  very  credit- 
able Byzantine  pictures  of  saints,  with  little  lamps 


98  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

burning  in  front  of  theni,  and  smaller  copies  hung 
below  for  the  votaries  to  kiss.  There  is  a  neat  in- 
closure  outside  the  church,  and  another  at  the  west 
end,  where  are  the  priest's  rooms  and  the  school,  a 
plain  building  with  matting  along  one  side  of  it — its 
only  furniture.  The  Church  Missionary  Society  had 
supplied  some  of  the  school-books,  Psalters  and  Tes- 
taments; and  I  noticed  two  well-used  large  Arabic 
Bibles,  with  the  Bible  Society's  stamp  on  their  covers. 
The  school-master  much  desires  an  Arabic  Bible  with 
marginal  references,  which  is  expensive ;  and  we  glad- 
ly promised  to  send  him  one  on  our  return  to  Jeru- 
salem. 

When  we  returned  to  camp,  we  found  our  troubles 
begun — the  people  crowding  round,  no  keeping  the 
head  men  out  of  our  tents,  an  intrusion  for  which  we 
paid  heavily  in  flea-bites  all  night — and  the  young 
mudjelli  assuming  a  threatening  tone.  Other  travel- 
ers had  paid  handsomely  for  going  over  the  castle,  and 
what  right  had  we  to  start  off  without  waiting  for  him 
and  arranging  terms?  He  must  have  a  large  sum  for 
our  assurance  in  going  over  Ms  place.  He  roundly 
cursed  the  Greek  priest  and  the  Christians,  and  for- 
bade them  to  come  near  us — an  injunction  he  signal- 
ly failed  in  carrying  out,  £600  is  the  lowest  sum  he 
will  take,  and  it  is  very  moderate.  He  Saulcy,  the 
Due  de  Luynes,  and  M.  Mauss,  the  only  visitors  they 
have  had,  paid  at  a  much  higher  rate.  "But,"  we 
reply,  "we  are  not  princes,  and  will  not  pay  like 
princes ;  indeed,  we  can  not."     "  Then,"  said  he,  "  the 


WE   ARE   PRISONERS.  99 

chief  will  shut  his  eyes  with  grief  while  evil  men  rob 
your  baggage  and  horses."  Meantime  our  mules  had 
been,  in  our  absence,  removed  to  the  public  khan ;  so 
that,  as  far  as  they  were  concerned,  we  were  at  his 
mercy.  "  Then,"  cried  Mr.  Klein,  "  we  will  go  to  the 
pasha."  "What  can  pashas  do  here?  We  are  lords 
here,  and  care  less  than  nothing  for  pashas  or  sultans." 
To  his  £600  he  held  firm.  Even  if  we  had  had  the 
money,  we  felt  that  payment  would  be  no  security 
against  further  demands;  but  we  had  it  not.  Event- 
ually he  announced  that  we  were  prisoners  in  our 
tents,  and  an  armed  guard  was  set  to  prevent  our  go- 
ing beyond  the  little  space  between  our  tents  and  the 
wall. 

But  while  the  young  mudjelli  was  playing  his  game 
in  our  tent,  another  part  of  the  drama  was  enacted  in 
the  next.  Mr.  Klein  had  contrived  to  send  a  messen- 
ger for  the  Greek  school-master,  who,  with  a  trusty 
native  Christian,  had  stolen  round  the  corner  unper- 
ceived,  and  entered  the  tent.  The  character  of  the 
old  father  was  discussed  :  "  Oh,  while  his  sons  are  rob- 
bers, he  too  has  a  belly  as  large  as  a  tent ;  but  then  he 
has  understanding  wide  as  the  ocean  ;"  implying  that 
he  was  too  prudent  ever  to  resort  to  personal  violence. 
We  were  thankful  to  feel  that,  at  least,  these  were  a 
different  class  from  the  lawless  freebooters  of  the 
Safieh,  It  was  arranged  that  a  secret  messenger 
should  be  found  and  dispatched  at  once  to  the  English 
consul  at  Jerusalem ;  and  a  sign  was  agreed  on — that 
the  man  chosen  should  bring  the  priest's  string  of 


100  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

beads  with  him  in  the  night.  Long,  and  in  under- 
tones, did  Mr.  Klein  and  the  Greeks  talk,  while  Trot- 
ter and  Johnson  patrolled  to  see  that  no  eavesdroppers 
were  near,  and  the  rest  of  our  party  kept  our  young 
jailer  in  parley  in  the  other  large  tent.  I  entered, 
sat  down,  and,  apparently  intent  on  a  map  before  me, 
indited  on  a  foolscap  sheet  the  letter  to  the  consul, 
recounting  our  difficulty,  and  the  tricks  of  the  man 
who  was  eying  me,  and  little  suspecting  my  employ- 
ment. At  length  Klein  came  in,  and  we  understood 
the  coast  was  clear.  There  was  no  further  occasion 
to  detain  our  keeper;  so  we  began  to  talk  loudly  at 
him  in  English,  on  which  he  took  his  departure,  tell- 
ing us  he  should  expect  the  money  to  be  ready  in 
the  morning. 

Arab  experiences  were  the  topic  of  the  evening, 
when  our  tormentors  had  retired.  Mr.  Klein  told  a 
good  story  illustrative  of  the  practice  of  the  country, 
''Every  man  his  own  thief- catcher."  His  horse,  a 
very  valuable  one,  had  been  stolen  from  his  stable  at 
Jerusalem,  and  not  a  trace  of  it  could  be  found,  nor 
a  shade  of  suspicion  as  to  who  was  the  thief  Some 
little  time  afterward  he  learned  that  his  horse  had 
been  seen  among  the  Beni  Hassan,  in  Gilead.  Send- 
ing across  Jordan,  he  opened  communications  with 
Goblan,  the  well-known  sheik  of  the  Adwan,  and  the 
neighbor  of  the  Beni  Hassan,  for  its  recoveiy,  promis- 
ing him  a  reward  of  £10.  The  Aciwan  reconnoitred 
the  district  secretly  for  some  days,  and  at  length  dis- 
covered the  camp,  where  the  thief  (a  man  of  Lifta,  a 


daoud's  stratagem.  101 

village  near  Jerusalem)  had  taken  refuge.  He  then 
rode  over  with  a  party  of  armed  horsemen,  shortly 
before  night-full.  They  made  out  the  tent  before 
which  the  horse  was  picketed,  and,  still  unseen,  con- 
cealed themselves  carefully  for  the  night  in  the  forest. 
The  sun  had  not  risen  when,  in  the  gloaming,  the 
Adwan  made  a  dash  into  the  camp,  and  cut  the  pick- 
ets. Four  of  them  rushed  into  the  tent,  seized  the 
culprit,  tied  him  across  the  horse,  and  galloped  off 
into  the  forest  before  the  Beni  Hassan  knew  what 
was  up.  Arrived  at  their  own  camp,  they  stripped 
the  man  naked,  beat  him  severely,  and  left  him  a 
whole  day  under  a  broiling  sun,  pegged  to  the 
ground.  Next  day  they  let  him  crawl  off,  and  soon 
brought  the  horse  to  Jerusalem,  where  they  received 
their  reward. 

"Mountain  never  meets  mountain,  but  man  and 
man  may  meet,"  was  a  favorite  Arabic  proverb  of 
Daoud's,  meaning  that  it  is  best  to  part  friends  with 
every  body,  with  a  view  to  future  contingencies. 
Hence  Daoud's  unwearied  civility  to  the  most  irri- 
tating schemers.  He  used  it  well  in  his  courteous 
Eastern  phrase,  when,  yesterday,  he  took  leave  of  the 
sheik  of  the  Beni  Atiyeh,  and,  writing  his  name  down 
in  his  pocket-book,  assured  him  he  should  remember 
him,  and  recommend  future  travelers  to  his  good 
offices. 

Daoud  was  generally  up  to  the  occasion.  Mean- 
ness is  an  especial  vice  of  Kerak.  Not  only  did  the 
young  sheik  not  send  us  the  kid  which  etiquette  re- 


102  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

quired,  when  he  was  returned  to  his  own  land,  after 
his  dinner  with  us  yesterday  ;  but,  after  leaving  our 
tent  to-night,  he  condescended  to  go  to  the  kitchen 
tent  and  demand  a  supper.  Daoud  baffled  him  by 
saying,  "Yes,  the  cook  is  just  cutting  up  the  pork," 
— "  Ugh ;  but  there  is  some  rice."  "  Yes,  and  put- 
ting the  bits  on  the  rice."  This  was  not  the  first 
time  that  Hayne's  flitch  of  bacon  had  done  us  good 
service;  for  before  leaving  Jerusalem,  slices  were  cut 
off  and  distributed  in  the  several  boxes  of  sugar,  rice, 
coffee,  and  the  like,  so  as  to  defile  their  contents  in 
the  eyes  of  good  Moslem  thieves. 

While  we  were  together  at  prayers  late  in  the  even- 
ing, we  heard  the  guard's  challenge,  but  no  reply. 
It  was  pitch  dark,  for  the  moon  had  set;  and  soon 
the  rattle  of  beads  was  heard  under  the  eaves  at  the 
back  of  the  tent.  Mr.  Klein  slipped  out;  and  when 
our  worship  was  concluded,  and  we  had  committed 
ourselves  to  a  covenant  Father's  care  in  a  strange 
land,  we  went  to  the  other  tent,  where  the  two  were 
sitting  in  darkness.  With  a  careful  patrol  round,  a 
candle  was  lighted,  and  I  produced  the  letter,  which 
the  Christian  carefully  concealed  in  the  lining  of  his 
garment,  together  with  a  sovereign,  and,  of  course, 
an  extra  piece  for  backsheesh  ;  with  a  promise  of  a 
dollar  extra  for  every  day  he  should  be  away  short 
of  ten  days,  the  usual  time  for  going  and  returning 
from  Jerusalem.  He  then  started  unperceived — not 
even  our  Christian  servants  were  in  the  secret — and 
went  out  to  sleep  in  the  mountains  for  a  few  hours, 


AID   AT   HAND.  103 

assuring  us  that  by  day-break  he  would  be  miles 
away  from  Kerak ;  and  thus,  after  a  day  of  rare 
interest  and  excitement,  the  party  retired  to  their 
couches,  or  sheep-skins. 

The  first  news  of  the  next  morning  was  from  the 
Greek  school-master,  who  arrived  early  to  say  that 
the  messenger  with  the  letter  had  got  away  in  safety, 
and  was  supposed  to  have  gone  to  his  family  camp  in 
the  hills;  but,  better  still,  that  Zadam,  son  of  Fendi  y 
Faiz,  the  great  sheik  of  the  Beni  Sakk'r,  was  only 
seven  hours  off.  Mr.  Klein  at  once  dispatched  a 
secret  messenger,  begging  his  immediate  presence. 
Soon  after  arrived  a  servant  of  the  head  man,  to  say 
that  he  did  not  wish  us  to  be  close  prisoners,  and 
that,  as  long  as  we  did  not  visit  the  city,  we  might 
ride  out  under. proper  guard,  and  see  whatever  part 
of  the  country  we  wished.  But  Mr.  Klein  knew  the 
Arab  character  too  well  to  allow  this  to  pass.  "  No," 
exclaimed  he,  in  energetic  tones  in  Arabic,  in  the 
hearing  of  all  the  men  that  sat  on  the  wall;  "they 
know  they  have  committed  a  crime  in  confining  us 
here,  and  insulting  us;  they  are  afraid,  and  so  they 
send  a  message :  let  them  come  and  fetch  us  out," 
It  reminded  one  of  St,  Paul's  experience  at  Philippi 
(Acts  xvi.,  37), 

We  remained,  therefore,  still  under  guard  till  noon, 
when  the  old  mudjelli  arrived  in  person  to  pay  us  a 
visit  of  state,  preceded  by  a  negro  mounted  herald 
and  a  troop  of  spearmen,  and  surrounded  by  the  mag- 
nates of  the  place.     But  with  them  was  Zadam,  the 


104  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

Beni  Sakk'r  sheik,  with  his  young  brother,  a  bright 
youth  of  fourteen.  At  once  he  dismounted,  and  greet- 
ed Mr.  Klein  as  an  old  friend.  It  appeared  he  had 
been  unavoidably  detained,  but  had  acted  on  our  let- 
ter, and  had  arrived  at  Jerusalem  only  an  hour  after 
we  left  for  Hebron.  But  he  had  made  amends  for 
his  delay,  and  produced  a  contract,  signed  and  sealed 
by  him  in  the  presence  of  the  English  consul,  by  which 
he  had  agreed  to  be  our  guard,  and  to  take  us  through 
all  the  country  north  of  Kerak  for  forty  days,  for  the 
moderate  sum  of  £60  sterling.  He  had  calculated  the 
time  we  should  be  on  the  road,  and  had  come,  expect- 
ing our  arrival  about  this  time.  Thus  all  the  future 
of  our  expedition  was  made  smooth,  if  only  we  could 
manage  the  neighborhood  of  Kerak  itself 

The  old  mudjelli  entered,  and  sat  down  next  Zadam. 
Now  was  our  turn.  We  recapitulated,  through  Daoud, 
the  indignities  to  which  we  had  been  exposed  ;  how 
his  son  had  acted  the  brigand,  and  how  at  that  very 
moment  we  were  prisoners.  The  son  was  meanwhile 
sitting  in  the  door- way,  listening  to  the  indictment. 
Mr.  Klein  asserted  his  dignity  with  great  solemnity. 
Appealed  to  by  the  mudjelli,  he  would  only  speak  to 
him  through  an  interpreter.  The  old  man  evidently 
saw  matters  had  been  carried  with  too  high  a  hand, 
objurgated  his  son,  offered  us  every  apology.  His  land 
was  our  land,  his  horses  were  our  horses,  his  guards 
were  our  guards.  From  this  moment  we  were  free. 
His  son  was  a  fool.  "  Yes,"  broke  in  Mr.  Klein  with 
an  inimitable  grimace,  "in  every  country  there  are 


A  SUNDAY   UNDER  ARREST.  105 

low,  mean  robbers,  as  well  as  respectable  and  intelli- 
gent gentlemen,"  This  was  too  much  for  the  son, 
who  hurriedly  finished  his  coffee  and  slunk  out  of  the 
tent.  Meantime  the  Beni  Sakk'r,  with  his  keen  black 
eye,  aquiline  nose,  and  handsome  face,  broke  in,  calm- 
ly, but  very  strongly.  He  had  come  to  meet  his 
friends  in  a  friendly  land,  and  did  not  expect  to  find 
them  under  guard,  and  tJiat  for  money  which  had  not 
been  earned.  We  observed  that  we  had  come  pre- 
pared to  make  a  handsome  present,  but  not  after  be- 
ing robbed  on  the  road.  Our  servants  and  muleteers 
were  standing,  grinning  with  delight  over  the  heads 
of  the  sitting  council ;  and  various  Kerak  Christians 
evidently  enjoyed  the  objurgation  bestowed  on  their 
dreaded  ruler. 

When  pipes  were  finished,  all  withdrew ;  and  the 
Sanhedrim  of  Kerak,  as  Daoud  called  them,  formed 
in  a  circle  on  the  rising  ground  behind  our  tents,  in 
long  and  angry  dispute.  The  young  men  came  in  for 
hard  language — more  for  their  bungling,  I  suspect, 
than  for  any  thing  else.  "  May  Allah  have  mercy  on 
the  father  of  your  beard!"  was  one  of  the  severe  re- 
proaches cast  on  the  culprits.  But,  at  any  rate,  we 
were  allowed  to  go  out,  and  took  the  opportunity  of 
enjoying  a  ramble  with  some  guides  among  the  bar- 
ren hills  and  deep  wadys  of  the  neighborhood,  which 
produced  partridge,  if  no  more  important  discovery. 

The  next  day  was  Sunday,  and  not  a  very  quiet 
rest-day.  We  were  still  under  surveillance,  and  our 
mules  at  the  khan.     At  day-break  all  sorts  of  visitors 


106  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

crowded  the  tents,  and  it  v/as  only  through  incessant 
proclamations  by  our  servants  that  it  was  our  prayer- 
day,  and  that  we  must  be  left  alone,  that  we  were  able 
to  get  any  peace.  The  Beni  Sakk'r  Zadam  showed 
himself  more  of  a  gentleman  than  the  others.  The 
old  mudjelli  kept  sitting  on  in  our  tent,  admiring  ev- 
ery article  he  saw,  when  Zadam  came  in,  saluted  us, 
sat  down  a  moment,  and  then  got  up,  saying,  "  There 
are  too  many  here  for  your  peace."  At  last  we  had 
our  tents  tied  up,  and  enjoyed  our  English  service  and 
Holy  Communion  together  (certainly  the  first  English 
celebration  ever  held  here),  and  claimed  the  promise, 
"  Where  two  or  three  are  gathered  togethei'." 

Mr.  Klein  was  not  with  us,  as  he  found  an  opportu- 
nity of  holding  an  Arabic  service  in  a  room  in  the 
Christian  quarter,  and  then  was  detained  a  long  time, 
visiting  the  people  after  it.  He  had  thirty  men  and 
six  women  to  form  his  congregation,  all  belonging  to 
the  Greek  Church.  They  are. very  ignorant,  but  from 
Bible  teaching  are  Protestants  in  heart,  have  some 
knowledge  of  the  truth,  and  thirst  for  more.  The 
school-master  is  fond  of  study,  thoughtful,  and  his 
great  desire  is  to  go  to  England  to  complete  his  edu- 
cation. There  were  earnest  requests  for  a  catechist ; 
and  if  the  roads  were  safe,  life  and  property  secure, 
and  regular  communications  open  with  Salt,  in  Gilead, 
where  the  Turkish  government  is  now  firmly  estab- 
lished, a  native  catechist  might  be  sent  at  once,  were 
there  funds  for  the  purpose.  Some  of  the  people, 
even  now,  prefer  not  to  have  their  children  baptized 


DEMANDS   ON   THE   HAKIM.  107 

in  the  Greek  Church,  but  send  them  to  Salt,  when 
there  is  a  missionary  on  circuit  there. 

The  great  value,  however,  of  Kerak  as  a  mission 
station  would  be  the  opportunity  of  free  intercourse 
with  the  Bedouin,  which  is  most  difficult  on  the  west 
side,  where,  on  the  complaint  of  the  Moslem  religious 
authorities,  the  Christian  school  established  among 
the  Ta'amirah  has  been  broken  up,  and  where  the 
Turks  are  afraid  of  the  Bedouin  becoming  more  trou- 
blesome, if  they  become  more  enlightened.  On  the 
east  there  would  be  at  least  no  official  jealousy  to  in- 
terpose. 

The  afternoon  was  much  occupied  with  temporal 
works  of  mercy.  Looked  upon  as  a  hakim,  I  had  a 
stream  of  visitors.  I  had  some  difficulty  in  screwing 
my  courage  to  use  a  history  in  a  surgical  case,  and  to 
open  an  abscess  in  a  youth's  leg.  Happily,  there  was 
no  artery  in  the  way,  and  I  saved  my  credit,  and  also 
the  young  man's  life,  who  was  going  on  well  three 
days  afterward.  There  were  ladies'  cases.  Even  the 
old  mudjelli  came,  and  said  his  fifth  and  favorite  wife 
was  very  ill  since  a  mishap ;  but  when  I  told  him  I 
could  not  prescribe  without  seeing  the  patient,  and 
also  parenthetically  inquired  how  he  came  to  have 
five  instead  of  four  wives,  he  hastily  turned  the  sub- 
ject. 

We  climbed  to  the  top  of  the  castle  overhead,  and 
on  the  top  of  the  wall  outside  sat  down  and  read. 
We  looked  at  Jerusalem  fifty  miles  off,  as  the  crow 
flies,  across  the  lake,  but  plainly  visible  through  our 


108  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

glasses.  The  Eussian  buildings,  the  Mount  of  Olives, 
and,  farther  south,  Bethlehem,  were  easily  recognized. 
The  view  at  sunset  was  splendid — a  wonderful  glow 
of  red,  yellow,  and  green,  over  the  range  of  Judea, 
and  the  old  moon  just  in  the  arms  of  the  new. 

Again  came  the  mudjelli,  handling  and  asking  for 
inkstands,  paper,  opera-glasses,  pistols,  or  whatever 
he  could  lay  his  fingers  on,  and  sorely  trying  our  pa- 
tience. After  his  third  or  fourth  departure,  Zadam 
came  in,  and  suggested  an  early  start.  We  explained 
that  we  wished  to  explore  the  southern  district  be- 
fore turning  north,  and  suggested  that  he  should  go, 
and  return  for  us  in  a  few  days.  With  a  quiet  smile 
and  inimitable  pantomime,  he  told  us  that  if  he  did 
leave  us,  the  mudjelli  would  "filch,  filch,  filch,"  put- 
ting out  his  long,  slender  fingers  toward  each  of  us, 
and  then  drawing  them  quietly  together  and  gather- 
ing them  in.  It  was  plain  that  it  was  only  the  awe 
of  Zadam's  presence  that  gave  us  our  present  quasi- 
liberty.  Zadam  also  hinted  that  he  did  not  like  to 
stay  much  longer  in  the  quarters  of  his  vassal,  on 
whom,  of  course,  he  and  his  retinue  had  to  sponge. 

Mr.  Klein,  who  had  been  diligently  collecting  typo- 
graphical information,  and  had  catalogued  about  sixty 
names  of  places  round,  and  chiefly  to  the  south  of 
Kerak,  found  very  few  names  that  promised  to  be  of 
scriptural  or  historical  interest.  He  thought  that  one 
long  day's  ride  might  suffice  to  work  a  radius  south 
of  Kerak  to  the  extent  of  fifteen  or  twenty  miles;  so 
we  agreed  to  go  in  two  days,  and  persuaded  Zadam 


CUKIOUS  BELATIONS.  109 

and  his  brother  to  be  our  guests  for  the  rest  of  our 
stay  here.  Trotter's  little  spare  tent  was  sent  up  for 
them,  rough  bedding  found,  and  their  horses  picketed 
with  ours. 

The  relations  of  the  mudjelli  and  the  Beni  Sakk'r 
are  curious.  The  former  is  a  Turkish-appointed  gov- 
ernor, ranks  as  a  colonel  in  the  Turkish  army,  and 
draws  pay  as  such  from  the  imperial  treasury,  being, 
of  course,  answerable  for  the  taxes  due  from  the  dis- 
trict. The  latter  is  also  under  Turkish  dominion,  but 
only  as  a  vassal  owing  feudal  allegiance,  and  may  be 
called  on  to  bring  so  many  hundred  horsemen  into 
the  field  when  required.  Practically,  the  Beni  Sakk'r 
are  an  independent  tribe ;  yet  Kerak  pays  to  them  a 
regular  tribute  annually,  to  protect  them^selves  and 
their  flocks  from  pillage,  very  much  as  the  towns  of 
South  Judah  used  to  send  "  presents  "  to  David  dur- 
ing his  wanderings.  The  tribute  paid  is  in  kind- 
barley,  wool,  etc.  It  is  felt  prudent  but  humiliating 
by  the  Keraki,  who  recall  the  time  when  they  were 
held  above  the  proudest  of  the  Bedouin. 

In  the  evening  Zadam  and  his  brother  dined  with 
us.  They  endured  the  trying  ordeal  of  a  European 
dinner  with  truly  Oriental  patience  ;  and  Zadam 
showed  much  shrewdness  in  his  quiet  imitation  of 
every  thing  he  saw  us  do,  and  much  skill  in  the  hand- 
ling of  those,  to  him,  novel  weapons,  a  knife  and  fork. 
He  admitted,  however,  that  he  had  seen  them  before, 
as  he  had  visited  Alexandria  and  Cairo  when  taking 
some  Arab  horses  as  a   present  to  the  Yiceroy  of 


no 


THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


Egypt,  and  had  traveled  in  a  railway  train.  He  one 
day  asked  Mr.  Klein  whether  he  thought  the  Queen 
of  England  would  give  him  a  present,  if  he  took  her  a 
fine  Arab  horse  as  a  gift. 

One  day  we  took  advantage  of  a  lull  in  the  storm ; 
and  finding  that  we  might  ride  out  with  our  guards 
where  we  would,  Mr.  Klein   planned   an    admirable 


NO.  8. 


ANCIENT  LAMP,  FOUND  AT  KERAK. 


route  with  me  to  several  of  the  southern  cities  of 
Moab,  the  topographical  results  of  which  will  be  given 
further  on.  The  rest  of  the  party  did  good  work, 
Buxton,  Hayne,  and  Johnson,  toiling  all  day  at  meas- 
uring, sketching  and  photographing,  among  the  castles 
and  ruins  of  Kerak,  which,  for  once,  they  were  per- 


FUTILE   THREATS.  Ill 

mitted  to  do,  with  no  greater  annoyance  than  an  un- 
mannerly crowd  about  them. 

After  nine  hours'  absence  we  returned,  to  find  there 
was  to  be  no  more  peace  for  us.  The  fact  of  our  hav- 
ing sent  a  letter  to  Jerusalem  had  eked  out,  and  in  a 
storm  of  rage  the  mudjelli  and  his  band  hurried  to  our 
camp.  His  brother  going  into  the  tent  and  finding 
Mr.  Klein  alone,  told  him  plainly,  with  Arabic  eu- 
phemism, he  would  have  him  assassinated  whenever 
a  favorable  opportunity  should  occur.  Klein  begged 
to  refer  him  to  those  who  had  written  the  letter.  I 
was  next  taxed,  and  replied  that,  as  we  had  no  money 
here,  we  were  obliged  to  send  to  Jerusalem  to  tell  our 
wants.  Did  he  suppose  we  would  carry  £600  about 
with  us?  It  was  vain;  the  curses  were  only  louder. 
I  was  obliged  in  turn  to  try  a  little  browbeating,  and 
through  Daoud  told  him,  with  angry  and  scornful 
gestures,  that  if  a  hair  of  Mr.  Klein's  head  were  touch- 
ed, he  should  pay  for  it  to  the  Pasha  of  Nablous.  As 
for  the  Greeks,  to  whose  quarter,  we  learned,  he  had 
been,  to  curse  the  Greek  school-master,  and  to  vow 
vengeance  on  every  Christian  who  had  been  near  us, 
so  soon  as  we  should  be  gone,  Daoud  took  care  to  tell 
him  in  the  ears  of  his  people  that  he  shook  like  a  sheep 
before  the  Moscov  (Russians),  and  that  he  dared  not 
hurt  one  child  under  the  wing  of  the  patriarch.  (The 
Greek  patriarch  makes  him  a  yearly  present  for  his 
protection  of  his  people.)  Soon  there  was  a  pause,  as 
the  mudjelli  ceased  cursing,  and  stooped  down  to  say 
his  prayers.    Scarcely  calmed  by  his  devotions,  he  told 


112  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

US  he  wanted  no  strangers  in  his  country  who  could 
not  pay  like  gentlemen.  We  told  him  we  should 
leave  to-morrow.  He  turned  round  to  the  crowd  and 
announced  that  he  should  only  permit  us  to  leave  by 
the  way  we  came,  and  that  he  should  turn  us  back 
into  the  Safieh.  This  was  too  much  for  Sahan,  Za- 
dam's  boy-brother,  who  leaped  up,  snapped  his  fin- 
gers in  the  face  of  the  old  bully,  and  laughed  at  the 
notion  of  making  his  brother's  friends  go  back  to  Sa- 
fieh. Zadam  also  hinted,  delicately,  that  any  injury 
to  us  might  lead  to  the  Kerak  cattle  straying  into 
Beni  Sakk'r  pastures. 

At  last  they  departed,  leaving  a  guard  over  our 
tents,  lest  we  should  escape  in  the  night. 


TAKING  LEAVE  OF  KERAK.         113 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Excursion  to  the  south  of  Kerak.— Kureitun.— The  twin  Towns.— 
Kiriathaivi.-The  Highhmds  of  Moab.— Kuined  Cities.-Azizah. 
—  Wine-presses.  —  M'hheileh.—  Jubah.  —  Roman  Road.  —  Mah- 
k'henah. —Cisterns.  — Modeh.  — Koman  Mile-stones.  — Mesh'had.  — 
Madin.-Theniyeh.— Arabic  Names.— Kerak,  Kir-moab,  or  Kir- 
hareseth.—Ohstm^cj  of  the  MudjeUi.— Visit  to  the  Council.— Di- 
plomacy about  Ransom.— Arab  Manoeuvres.— Off  at  last.— Tre- 
mendous Storm.-Road  to  Rabba.—Rakim.— Roman  Road.— Ar- 
rival atRabba.— Campin  a  Tank. —Description  of  Rabba.— Roman 
Temples.— Basaltic  Stones.— The  Kerak  Men  again.— Daoud's  In- 
genuity for  the  Horse's  Corn.— Robbery  of  the  Letter-carrier. —Bad 
News.— Mr.  Klein  recalled. 

Before  taking  our  final  leave  of  Kerak,  it  may  be 
well  to  give  shortly  the  results  of  our  surveying  ex- 
pedition among  the  ruins  to  the  southward.  We  left 
by  the  north-east  side  of  the  city,  riding  through  the 
Christian  quarter,  and,  scrambling  over  a  gap  in  the 
broken  wall,  led  our  horses  down  a  zigzag  path,  into 
the  ravine  of  the  Wady  Kerak.  At  this  point  the 
depth  of  the  gorge  rapidly  diminishes,  as,  making  a 
partial  circuit  of  the  city,  we  come  out,  after  twenty 
minutes,  under  the  great  castle,  cross  first  a  brow,  and 
then  the  Wady  Tziatin,  where  the  soldiers  of  Ibrahim 
Pasha  were  slaughtered  in  attempting  to  cut  their 
way  from  the  castle.  Here  Ibrahim  Pasha  planted 
his  mortars  and  bombarded  the  place. 

The  wady  of  Kerak  soon  begins  to  widen  from  a 


114  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

ravine  to  a  more  open  valley.  Ancient  terraces  are 
everywhere  to  be  traced,  and  here  and  there  little 
green,  saucer-like,  level  halting-places,  with  soft,  rich 
herbage,  where  the  Keraki  were  making  their  sum- 
mer camp,  while  their  goats  depastured  the  rugged 
hill-sides.  In  forty -five  minutes  after  starting  we 
reached  the  crest  of  the  opposite  hill,  and  could  over- 
look Kerak,  with  the  gorge  down  to  the  Dead  Sea, 
up  which  we  had  ridden  a  week  before,  and  a  part 
of  the  sea  itself,  while  the  mountains  of  Judea  formed 
the  background.  Even  without  a  glass  we  could  dis- 
tinctly make  out  Jerusalem.  The  spot  had  a  few 
ruins  and  wells,  and  is  called  Jelamet  es  Subbha. 

It  was  only  twenty  minutes'  ride  from  this  place 
to  the  first  of  the  twin  towns  of  Kureitun,  perhaps  a 
Kiriathaim  of  Scripture,  but  not  the  Kiriathaim  of 
Reuben.  Here  are  the  remains  of  two  towns  close 
together,  with  a  gentle  hollow  of  not  more  than  half 
a  mile  from  crest  to  crest  between  them,  bearing 
the  same  name,  and  thus  illustrating  the  significance 
of  the  dual  termination  in  the  Hebrew  Kiriathaim. 
One  description  might  suffice  for  all  these  Moabite 
ruins.  The  town  seems  to  have  been  a  system  of 
concentric  circles  built  round  a  central  fort;  and  out- 
side the  buildings  the  rings  continue  as  terrace  walls, 
the  gardens  of  the  old  city.  The  terraces  are  contin- 
uous between  the  twin  hillocks,  and  intersect  each 
other  at  the  foot.  There  are  several  wells,  now  half- 
choked  and  dry,  in  each,  and  the  ground  is  full  of 
small   caverns,  especially  under  the  buildings,  care- 


THE   HIGHLANDS   OF   MOAB.  '  115 

fully  cemented,  wbich  have  been  the  reservoirs  of 
each  house.  We  find  here  no  arches  standing,  but 
the  remains  of  many,  in  the  buttresses  from  the  vaults, 
showing  that  stone  had  been  exclusively  used  in  the 
domestic  constructions. 

We  had  now  got  on  to  the  plateau,  or  highlands, 
of  Moab,  on  the  crest  of  what  looks,  from  the  other 
side,  to  be  a  range  of  mountains,  but  which  is  in  re- 
ality the  edge  of  a  high  table-land  about  4000  feet 
above  the  Dead  Sea  valley,  and  which  gently  rises  to 
the  eastward  for  about  twenty-five  miles,  where  a  bar- 
ren limestone  range  of  no  great  height  forms  another 
water-shed,  and  is  the  conventional  frontier  of  Arabia. 
The  ravines  to  the  westward,  which,  as  we  ascended 
from  the  Dead  Sea,  have  been  so  conspicuous  a  fea- 
ture, become  now,  in  their  earlier  course,  mere  gentle 
valleys,  with  rounded  rolling  hills,  none  of  them  so 
steep  as  those  of  Central  Judea.  Whenever  the  lime- 
stone is  elevated  above  the  rich  vegetable  soil,  it  is 
honey-combed  with  caves,  all  once  utilized  as  water- 
cisterns.  The  wells  are  countless,  and  not  confined 
to  the  old  cities  only,  showing  that  the  Israelites  must 
have  had  no  little  labor  to  stop  them  all  with  stones 
(2  Kings  iii.,  25).  The  soil  of  the  plains  is  a  rich, 
friable  loam,  covered  with  small  stones,  which  shield 
the  tender  roots  from  the  sun,  and  which  is  capable 
of  producing  any  thing.  Every  knoll  is  covered  with 
shapeless  ruins,  while  not  a  tree  is  to  be  seen  through 
the  whole  country,  except  here  and  there  a  terebinth, 
always  among  the  ddbris  of  some  ancient  site.     The 


116  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

ruins  consist  merely  of  heaps  of  squared  stones,  with 
here  and  there  the  traces  of  an  arch  (while  north  of 
the  Arnon  the  remaining  arches  are  countless),  and 
walls  of  squared  and  well-fitting  stones,  which,  ap- 
parently, were  erected  without  mortar. 

From  Kureitun  we  turned  S.S.W.,  and  in  ten  min- 
utes were  on  the  mound  of  ruins  called  Kirbet  Azizah. 
The  remains  are  extensive,  and  with  very  many  wells, 
Amonsr  other  traces  of  older  and  better  times,  I  came 
upon  a  wine-press  hewn  in  the  rock  —  two  troughs 
hewn  out  of  the  native  rock,  with  a  perforated  par- 
tition left  between  them.  The  grapes  were  thrown 
into  the  upper  trough,  and  there  trodden  by  the  feet 
of  the  wine-pressers,  the  juice  draining  through  the 
holes  into  the  lower  receptacle.  The  presses  are  ex- 
actly similar  to  those  so  numerous  in  Western  Pales- 
tine. For  ages,  however,  the  threat  against  Moab  has 
been  fulfilled  :  "  Gladness  is  taken  away,  and  joy  out 
of  the  plentiful  field;  and  in  the  vineyards  there  shall 
be  no  singing,  neither  shall  there  be  shouting :  the 
treaders  shall  tread  out  no  wine  in  their  presses;  I 
have  made  their  vintage  shouting  to  cease"  (Isa. 
xvi.,  10). 

To  the  left  of  Azizah  runs  the  Wady  M'hheileh, 
in  which  there  is  a  remarkable  large,  open  reservoir, 
formed  out  of  a  natural  cavity.  Fifteen  minutes 
brought  us  from  Azizah  to  Kirbet  Nekad,  with  ruins 
like  the  former,  on  a  knoll ;  and  in  eighteen  minutes 
more  we  reached  Hhoweiyeh,  a  much  more  extensive 
place,  with  many  wells.     The  old  walls  covered  a 


ROMAN    ROAD.  117 

considerable  space  of  ground ;  but  there  are  no  arch- 
es left  standing.  The  herbage  here  was  luxuriant, 
and  close  to  the  ruins  was  a  camp  of  herdmen  and 
their  families,  dependents  on  Kerak. 

Twenty-two  minutes'  quick  riding  across  a  level 
plain  brought  us  to  Jubah,  which  must  have  been  a 
small  place,  but  the  masonry  very  solid.  There  is 
here  another  capacious  natural  cistern,  enlarged  by 
art.  Here  we  came  upon  the  old  Roman  road,  very 
distinctly  marked  by  the  lines  of  two  parallel  walls 
close  together,  unbroken  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
reach,  and  running  over  the  plain  due  south.  We 
cantered  along  the  side  of  the  old  military  way,  in  a 
wide,  shallow  valley  of  very  rich  earth. 

Fourteen  minutes  was  enough  to  bring  us  to  Mah- 
k'henah,  the  Mahanna  of  Irby  and  Mangles's  Journal. 
The  remains  are  in  a  better  state  of  preservation  than 
any  of  those  we  had  yet  visited  in  the  course  of  our 
ride.  The  plan  of  many  of  the  buildings,  and  espe- 
cially of  an  old  Byzantine  church,  can  be  distinctly 
traced.  It  stands  on  a  slightly  elevated  mamelon, 
covering  several  acres.  Not  only  are  there  the  usual 
number  of  old  wells,  as  though  there  had  been  one 
for  every  house,  according  to  the  command  given  by 
Mesha  in  the  Moabite  Stone,  "  Make  for  yourselves, 
every  man,  a  cistern  in  his  house,"  but  there  are 
many  caves  which  have  been  used  as  dwellings,  and 
several  crypt- houses  quite  perfect.  Large  dressed 
stones  were  lying  about  in  all  directions.  The  only 
present  inhabitants  were  Greek  partridges;  but  though 


118  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

we  found  no  Bedouin  here,  both  the  caves  and  arches 
had  lately  been  inhabited  by  men  and  flocks.  In 
many  of  the  caves  was  the  raised  platform,  or  "mas- 
taba,"  for  sleeping  on,  formed  of  earth,  at  the  farther 
end;  and  several  fragments  of  sheep-skin  coverlets 
and  garments,  as  well  as  fodder,  were  strewn  about. 
We  could  not  see  Kerak  from  Mahk'henah,  but  the 
road  close  to  it  could  be  distinguished  with  the  glass. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  Mahk'henah  is  the  Arabic 
equivalent  for  "  Mochrath,"  mentioned  on  the  Moab- 
ite  Stone  as  the  place  from  which  Mesha  repeopled 
Ataroth  after  he  had  exterminated  its  former  Israel- 
itish  inhabitants. 

Five  minutes  west  of  this  was  a  small  ruin,  appar- 
ently of  a  fort  and  a  village,  which  we  visited,  called 
Jeljul  (Djellgood  of  Irby  and  Mangles,  or  Djeldjoun 
of  Burckhardt).  From  Mahk'henah  we  crossed,  in 
a  S.S.W.  direction,  a  splendid  rich  plain,  full  of  the 
traces  of  ancient  inclosures  and  vineyards,  now  a 
waste  like  the  rest  of  Moab.  After  a  smart  ride  of 
thirty-five  minutes,  we  reached  Modeh  (Monthe  of 
Burckhardt,  Harnata  or  Mote  of  Irby  and  Mangles). 
Here,  on  two  contiguous  knolls,  have  been  two  sister 
towns  exactly  like  Kureitun.  They  were  united  at 
the  bottom  of  the  hills,  and,  apparently,  were  inclosed 
by  a  common  wall.  We  were  again  on  the  traces  of 
the  Roman  road,  and  came  across  two  mile-stones,  one 
broken,  the  other  still  in  situ.  Among  the  ruins  were 
three  terebinth -trees,  the  solitary  representatives  of 
timber  we  met  with  in  our  whole  ride;  nor  is  there 
a  vestige  of  scrub  on  the  hills  anywhere. 


PEACTICAL   BENEVOLENCE.  119 

Modeh  was  our  south-western  limit  in  this  excur- 
sion. From  it  we  turned  and  set  out  due  north-east 
toward  the  ruins  of  Mesh'had  (Machad  of  Irby). 
Near  it  is  Abou  Taleb's  tomb,  a  tall,  crumbling  mass 
of  masonry,  supported  on  arches.  Riding  northward 
another  half  hour,  we  came  on  a  narrow  wady,  into 
which  we  descended  by  a  rugged  path,  and  found 
ourselves  at  the  deep  well  called  Beer  Madin,  from 
the  city  on  the  top  of  the  hill  beyond.  The  well  is 
a  natural  cave,  many  feet  down,  and  fed,  apparent- 
ly, by  some  subterranean  spring.  We  descended  by 
steps  hewn  in  the  rock,  and  found  the  water  pure, 
cold,  and  delicious.  We  afterward  scrambled  down 
two  similar  wells  in  the  same  wady.  A  few  half- 
broken  troughs,  some  of  them  formed  of  old  sar- 
cophagi, were  by  the  mouths  of  the  wells,  and  con- 
tained water  for  our  horses,  kindly  left  there  for  the 
next  traveler  by  some  considerate,  unselfish  water- 
drawer.  This  was  a  piece  of  practical  benevolence 
we  could  thoroughly  appreciate,  for  we  had  ourselves 
nothing  to  draw  with. 

After  resting  here  a  few  minutes,  we  were  again 
in  the  saddle,  and  a  steep  climb  of  fifteen  minutes 
brought  us  to  the  ruins  of  Madin,  on  the  crest  of  a 
hill — not,  like  the  other  cities,  on  a  gentle  knoll  in  a 
plain.  We  seemed  now  to  have  left  the  level  plateau, 
which  extended  far  east  and  south,  while  to  the  west 
we  begin  here  to  re-enter  the  rugged  defiles  of  which 
Kerak  is  the  key.  The  ruins  are  rather  extensive, 
and  more  perfect  than  any  others  we  examined  in 


120  THE   LAND   OF    MOAB. 

this  ride — squared  stones  of  considerable  size,  and 
many  old  house  -  walls,  still  standing,  apparently,  at 
their,  original  height,  built  of  dressed  stones,  without 
any  trace  of  mortar.  Several  sarcophagi  were  lying 
about;  one  had  been  used  as  the  lintel  for  an  old 
door-way;  and  there  were  sculptured  fragments  of 
the  Koman  period,  and  broken  oil-presses.  Jebel 
Shihan  stood  out  clearly,  bounding  the  northern 
horizon. 

From  Madin  to  Theniyeh,  the  last  ruin  we  visited, 
was  an  hour's  ride,  and  another  hour  brought  us  back 
to  Kerak.* 

No  chain  of  evidence,  happily,  can  be  less  open  to 
cavil  than  that  which  identifies  Kerak  with  Kir-moab 
(Isa.  XV.,  1),  or  Kir-haresh,  or  Hareseth  (Isa.  xvi.,  7, 
11),  Kir-heres  (Jer.  xlviii.,  31),  or  Kir-haraseth  (2 
Kings  iii.,  25).     It  was  the  castle,  "  Kir,"  as  distin- 

*  We  had  also  noticed,  during  the  day,  Mouriyeh  (Meraa  of  Burck- 
hardt),  Hamad,  Suhl,  and  Nachal  (Netchill  of  Irby).  From  the  Ke- 
rak people  we  obtained,  through  Mr.  Klein,  the  names  of  many  other 
sites  known  to  them,  some  of  which  seem  to  be  the  Arabic  representa- 
tions of  Hebrew  names.  Among  them  are  Dimnah  (qucere :  the  Di- 
mon  of  Isaiah  ?),  though,  for  want  of  a  known  site,  Dimon  has  been 
commonly  held,  by  an  ingenious  but  far-fetched  interpretation,  to  be  a 
synonym  of  Dibon,  Lubeirah,  Sumrah,  Yaroud,  Beter,  Hadadah,  Ea- 
kun,  Z'erar,  Hhomoud,  Azour,  and  others.  These  were  given  us  with 
very  definite  directions.  Other  places  of  which  we  obtained  the  names 
without  precise  identification  were  Dadras,  Um  Hayh,  El  Ainah,  Fulk- 
hah,  Dubbak,  'Izzar,  Bedthan,  Keriyeh,  El  Fityan,  En  Sheynesh. 
Misnar,  'Am'rah  el  Bourdan,  Sahdouneh,  N'assit,  Gh'marein,  Hhro- 
fillat,  Hadjfeh,  Alayan,  Tzemakiyeh,  Oneim,  and  Ed  D'lalhyeh.  These 
all  remain  for  some  future  explorer  to  identify. 


VISIT  TO   THE   SENATE.  121 

guished  from  the  metropolis,  "Ar,"  of  the  count ry- 
1  e   Rabbath-moab,  the  modern  Rabba.     The  largur.. 
translates  all  these  names  "Kerakah,"  identical  wuh 
the  modern   name  *     The  Crusaders  mistook  it  for 
Petra,and  gave  to  its  bishop  that  title,  which  the 
Greek  Church  has  still  retained;  but  the  name  in  the 
vernacular  has  continued  unchanged.     No  wonder, 
as  we  look  down  from  the  neighboring  heights  upoii 
It  that  the  combined  armies   of  Israel,  Judah,  and 
Edom  could  not  take  it,  and  that  "in  Kir-haraseth 
left  they  the  stones  thereof;  howbeitthe  slingers  went 
about  it,  and  smote  it"  (2  Kings  iii.,  25),  but  to  little 

^"ThTpopulation  of  Kerak  is  said  to  be  8000,  of 
whom  1600  are  Christian.  There  could  not  have 
been  any  thing  like  that  population  at  the  time  of 
our  visit;  but  then  the  greater  part  of  the  people 
and  their  families  were  camping  in  the  country,  with 

their  flocks  and  herds. 

Our  patience  was  now  exhausted.  Four  days  un- 
der surveillance  was  enough,  and,  duly  escorted,  a 
deputation  consisting  of  Daoud  and  myself  paid  an 
early  visit,  next  day,  to  the  mudjelli.  In  the  centre 
of  the  town  we  stepped  down  into  a  court-yard  and 
thence  into  the  large  cavernous  chamber  which  term- 
ed the  council-chamber  of  the  city.  The  whole  as- 
sembly, perhaps  thirty  in  number,  were  sitting  in  sol- 

*As  Kerak-moab  it  is  mentioned  by  Ptolemy,  Steph.  Byz.,  and 
other  writers. 


122  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

emn  conclave  with  their  pipes,  round  the  great  saucer- 
shaped  hearth,  about  one  yard  and  a  half  wide,  con- 
taining smoking  embers,  for  it  was  very  cold.  No 
one  rose  to  salute  me,  nor  did  the  mudjelli  even  lift 
his  eyes  as  I  stood.  Determined  to  take  the  bull 
by  the  horns,  at  Daoud's  whisper  I  stepped  forward, 
pushed  one  of  the  sitting  elders  aside,  and  strode  in 
front  of  the  chief  in  my  boots  and  spurs.  Still  no 
one  moved  till  I  made  room  for  myself  at  the  upper 
end  of  the  circle,  and  took  my  seat  in  the  place  of 
honor,  by  the  mudjelli,  on  the  ground.  On  this  a 
box  was  brought  from  behind,  and  a  cushion  spread 
on  it  for  me.  Daoud  stood  by  me,  and  through  him 
I  spoke  many  civil  words ;  said  I  had  come  to  return 
the  state  visit  paid  us  seven  days  ago,  as  we  were  go- 
ing to  leave  this  morning,  and  wished  to  part  friends, 
and  to  thank  him  for  the  security  to  our  2^ersons  we 
had  enjoyed  under  his  government.  Not  a  word  in 
reply.  Another  civil  speech,  and  still  no  sign.  At 
length  some  of  the  elders  broke  silence,  and  advised 
their  chief  to  part  with  the  Christians  as  friends,  and 
to  let  them  go  in  peace.  A  long  conference  ensued 
among  them  in  undertones.  At  the  proper  moment 
Daoud  broke  in,  embraced  the  mudjelli  on  his  knees, 
and  whispered  long  in  his  ear.  Still  no  word.  At 
length,  seeing  that  no  coffee  was  coming,  I  rose,  and 
said  I  hoped  he  would  come  soon  to  our  tents  to  say 
farewell,  and  that  we  should  wait  for  him  there.  He 
then  actually  half  rose  and  bowed,  and  gave  me  a 
salaam.     When  we  got  back  to  camp,  Daoud  prog- 


DEPARTURE  FROM  KERAK.         123 

Tiosticated  success,  as  the  old  man  had  whispered  to 
him,  "Do  not  let  the  howadji  give  me  money  in  the 
sight  of  my  people." 

The  gi'eat  man  shortly  appeared  on  horseback,  with 
a  long  retinue,  and,  dismounting,  entered  our  tent 
with  some  of  his  chief  followers.  He  and  I  had  a  pri- 
vate interview  in  the  second  tent;  and  as  he  emerged, 
at  once  the  word  was  passed  to  strike  tents  and  load 
the  mules.  Never  were  orders  more  promptly  obey- 
ed.    In  an  hour  and  a  quarter  all  was  packed. 

The  morning's  lowering  sky  now  turned  to  a  hur- 
ricane; and  before  the  mules  were  quite  ready,  rain 
followed  the  wind— such  rain  as  I  have  seldom  seen. 
We  started  a  little  in  advance  of  our  baggage,  intend- 
ing to  leave  by  the  eastern  exit;  but  the  storm  of 
rain  and  hail  became  so  fierce  that  our  terrified  horses 
refused  to  move,  and  wheeled  round,  unable  to  face 
the  blast.  Under  the  lee  of  the  Greek  church  we 
had  to  sit  on  our  trembling  steeds,  soaked  to  the  skin. 
The  elements  might  have  combined  with  the  people 
to  detain  us.  When  the  violence  of  the  squall  abated, 
we  rode  back  to  the  castle.  To  our  relief,  the  site  of 
our  camp  was  desolate.  The  muleteers,  for  once  in 
earnest  to  be  off,  had  taken  shelter  in  the  tunnel, 
whence  they  were  now  winding  down  the  steep  by 
which  we  had  entered.  Under  a  succession  of  drench- 
ing showers  we  passed  the  mules,  and  a  ride  of  four 
and  a  half  hours  through  very  heavy  country  brought 
us  to  our  camp  at  Eabba,  with  no  further  inconven- 
ience, beyond  our  soaking,  than  the  ordinary  difficul- 


124  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

ties  of  mules  objecting  to  ford  little  swollen  torrents, 
or  dislodging  their  burdens  from  their  backs  at  the 
most  inconvenient  turnings. 

On  the  way  we  passed  the  ruins  of  Suweiniyeh, 
Duweineh,  Kakim,  and  Mekhersit.  The  difierent  as- 
pect of  the  country  to  the  south  of  Kerak  and  of  this 
northern  plain  suggests  a  reason  why  the  cities  are  so 
much  more  crowded  in  the  former.  The  most  espe- 
cial feature  of  that  district  is  the  number  of  "  tells," 
little  hillocks,  or  mamelons  of  rocks,  rising  like  an  ir- 
regular eruption  over  the  plain.  The  northern  plain 
is  without  these  excrescences.  Their  great  value  in 
the  eyes  of  the  former  inhabitants  would  seem  to  have 
been  the  facility  for  utilizing  or  excavating  an  unlim- 
ited number  of  tanks.  In  a  land  where  the  popula- 
tion must  have  been  chiefly  dependent  on  the  rains 
for  their  supply,  they  preferred  to  settle  in  spots  where 
their  facilities  for  water-storage  were  unlimited. 

We  soon  came  on  the  old  Roman  road  running  due 
north  and  south,  with  its  pavement  still  there,  though 
broken  up,  and  often  the  flag-stones  set  on  edge  by 
time  and  weather,  with  the  two  parallel  lines  of  walls 
flanking  it.  This  ruined  street  we  followed  without 
incident  until,  under  the  drenching  rain,  we  were  glad 
to  reach  our  arranged  quarters  for  the  night,  at  Eab- 
ba,  the  old  Ar,  or  Rabbath-moab,  and  the  Areopolis 
of  the  Greek  and  Roman  writers,  so  named  from  the 
resemblance  in  sound  between  Ar  and  "Apijc,  or  Mars. 
Jerome  distinctly  identifies  them.  Since  Rabba  is  so 
close  to  the  northern  frontier  of  transarnonic  Moab, 


DETENTION   AT   KABBA.  125 

and  as  there  is  no  trace  of  any  city  of  importance  be- 
tween it  and  the  river,  it  is  easy  to  understand  how, 
in  Kumbers  xxi.,  15,  Ar  is  spoken  of  as  if  it  were  the 
northern  border. 

The  place  selected  for  camp  sounds  a  questionable 
one,  under  a  deluge  of  rain  :  the  bottom  of  an  im- 
mense tank,  or  reservoir,  some  sixty  yards  by  fifty  in 
extent ;  and  though  largely  choked  up  with  the  litter 
and  manure  of  the  animals  which  have  been  folded 
here  for  ages,  perhaps  to  the  depth  of  twenty  feet,  it 
was  still,  in  some  places,  thirty  feet  below  the  upper 
surface.  In  the  sides,  rather  high  up,  were  large  open 
caves,  where  our  guards  and  muleteers  comfortably 
ensconced  themselves  and  a  few  of  the  horses.  Our 
tents  were  pitched  on  the  porous  mass  of  goats'  dung, 
which  rapidly  absorbed  the  water,  and  gave  us  a  tol- 
erably dry  surface.  Though  not  sheltered  from  the 
rain,  we  were  safe  from  the  wind,  and  our  tents  were 
not  rocked  by  the  storm.  We  were  at  peace  at  last, 
though  bitterly  cold,  and  my  sheep-skin  bed  had  been 
rolled  by  a  mule  in  a  torrent,  and  was  a  mere  damp 
sponge.  To  sleep  in  a  mackintosh,  and  damp  bedding 
over  it,  is  a  severe  trial,  with  the  thermometer  close  to 
the  freezing-point. 

Rain  compelled  us  to  remain  another  day  in  the  cis- 
tern. There  was,  however,  enough  to  explore  in  the  ru- 
ins of  Rabba,  though  the  weather  forbade  photograph- 
ing. The  place  seems  to  have  been  square,  with  the  Ro- 
man road  almost  intersecting  it  from  north  to  south; 
and  the  course  of  the  main  street  may  be  traced. 

9 


126  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

Unlike  the  ruins  we  have  previously  visited,  Eab- 
ba  bears  all  the  marks  of  a  city  of  the  late  Eoman  pe- 
riod, with  abundant  traces  of  an  earlier  epoch.  The 
Roman  town  seems  to  have  been  about  three-quarters 
of  a  mile  each  way.  There  are  several  huge  grass- 
grown  mounds,  evidently  the  tombs  of  some  impor- 
tant buildings,  which  might  well  repay  excavation. 
One  temple  has  two  Corinthian  columns  standing,  and 
portions  of  several  others,  with  two  arches.  There 
are  also  two  other  large  open  tanks,  but  all  else  is 
only  a  mass  of  walls,  broken-down  fragments  of 
carved  work,  and  Corinthian  capitals ;  broken  sar- 
cophagi here  and  there,  blocks  of  basalt,  vaults  and 
arched  cellars  of  all  sizes,  some  being  still  used  by 
the  Arabs  as  folds,  sleeping-places,  and  store-houses, 
and  in  some  of  which  were  myriads  of  rock-doves. 
These  vaults  are  countless.  The  Romans  have  evi- 
dently used  in  their  construction  many  carved  stones 
from  yet  earlier  edifices.  The  material  of  the  city  is 
limestone.  But  we  found  many  blocks  of  basalt, 
which  must  have  been  brought  from  Shihan,  several 
miles  off,  built  into  the  walls  and  arches,  some  of  them 
finely  faced,  and  others  carved,  telling  of  a  still  more 
ancient  Moabite  city.  Among  the  blocks  of  basalt 
thus  used  were  fragments  of  architraves  and  entabla- 
tures. Several  of  the  sarcophagi  were  of  basalt  also, 
but  without  sculpture.  At  the  eastern  end  of  the 
city  are  the  remains  of  a  large  square  building,  which 
seems,  by  some  bases  left  in  situ,  to  have  had  a  colon- 
nade round  a  central  court,  probably  the  prsetorium. 


ROBBERY   OF   THE   LETTER-CARRIER.  127 

We  were  not  yet  rid  of  our  Kerak  tormentors, 
though  out  of  their  power.  They  found  our  coffee 
and  tobacco  good ;  and  their  camp  was  too  near  ours 
for  our  comfort.  The  mudjelli  and  his  horde  kept 
hovering  about  all  day,  sponging  upon  us  for  break- 
fast and  every  other  meal,  and  filching  the  barley  of 
our  muleteers  for  their  own  horses.  However,  in  this 
matter,  the  muleteers  are  not  scrupulous  about  steal- 
ing from  each  other's  nose-bags,  for  mules  can  tell  no 
tales.  There  is,  however,  a  mode  of  detecting  it. 
Mr.  Klein,  who  rode  his  own  mare,  asked  Daoud  this 
morning  if  he  was  quite  sure  she  always  got  her  al- 
lowance. "  Oh  yes,"  he  replied,  "  the  muleteers  often 
steal  from  one  another,  and  rob  their  friends'  horses ; 
but  I  can  always  find  out  if  your  mare  has  been  cheat- 

e(j/' '« How?"     "  I  always  put  some  pebbles  in  with 

the  barley,  seven  or  eight,  and  count  exactly  how 
many  I  put  in.  The  mare  never  eats  the  pebbles ; 
and  if  any  one  steals  barley,  he  is  sure  to  take  two  or 
three  pebbles  with  it.  If  I  find  the  pebbles  short  in 
the  morning,  I  make  hard  words,  and  they  can  not 
tell  how  I  know  ;  and  so  they  let  alone  cheating  her." 
We  had  another  instance  of  Kerak  villainy  to-day. 
In  the  afternoon  a  poor  fellow  came  in,  not  only  half- 
perished  with  cold,  hunger,  and  wet,  but  with  his  gar- 
ments in  rags,  and  his  limbs  bruised  and  beaten.  Mr. 
Klein  recognized  him  at  once  as  a  Bethlehem  acquaint- 
ance. He  told,  trembling  and  quaking,  how  he  had 
been  sent  from  Jerusalem  by  Mrs.  Klein,  with  letters 
for  her  husband,  by  way  of  Jericho  and  Heshbon. 


128  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

He  had  left  Jerusalem  before  our  messenger  could 
have  arrived,  and  therefore  knew  nothing  of  our 
plight  at  Kerak. 

It  seems  that  an  hour  and  a  half  north  of  Rabba, 
the  son  of  the  mudjelli  and  others  were  lying  in  wait 
for  our  messenger.  He  inquired  innocently  where  we 
were,  confessed  to  having  letters  for  us,  and,  on  his 
refusal  to  give  them  up,  was  severely  beaten,  and  the 
packet  taken  from  him  by  force.  The  man  happened 
to  know  the  chief  by  sight.  The  scoundrels  had  actu- 
ally had  their  breakfast  at  our  tents  just  before,  and 
thus  used  our  camp  as  a  station  to  prevent  our  send- 
ing or  getting  news.  Their  violence  was  an  utter 
mystery  to  the  poor  Bethlehemite,  who  could  not  un- 
derstand their  object,  and  only  by  chance  found  out 
where  we  were.  He  could  tell  no  more  than  that  he 
knew  he  was  the  bearer  of  bad  news,  that  Mr.  Klein's 
eldest  boy  was  very  ill,  and  he  believed  the  letter  was 
to  ask  him  to  return. 

But  where  is  the  letter?  The  mudjelli  is  actually 
in  our  camp,  but  treats  the  matter  with  indifference, 
and  says  in  a  couple  of  days  his  son  may  turn  up. 
Mr.  Klein  feels  there  is  no  time  to  be  lost,  and,  con- 
sulting with  Zadam,  determines  that  we  shall  all  cross 
the  Arnon  together  to-morrow,  and  camp  on  the  north- 
ern brow.  We  shall  then  be  in  the  Beni  Sakk'r  land, 
and  in  perfect  safety,  and  Mr.  Klein  will  push  on  alone 
with  a  servant  of  Zadam's,  who  will  be  quite  sufficient 
guard  where  he  is  known,  and  the  Beni  Sakk'r  all- 
powerful. 


MR.  KLEIN'S  RETURN.  129 

To  us  the  loss  of  Mr.  Klein  was  very  grievous ;  and 
most  grateful  must  every  one  of  the  party  ever  feel 
for  his  kind,  energetic,  and  invaluable  aid.  To  his 
tact,  patience,  and  skill  in  dealing  with  tha  natives  we 
owed  altogether  our  passage  without  loss  through  the 
Safieh,  and  our  survey  of  Kerak  for  a  comparatively 
trifling  black-mail ;  while  the  whole  of  the  more  im- 
portant part  of  the  expedition — that  north  of  the  Ar- 
non,  so  successfully  carried  out,  was  due  to  the  thor- 
ough trust  and  friendship  which  Zadam  had  for  him. 
Mr.  Klein's  perfect  knowledge  of  the  Arabic  vernacu- 
lar was  of  the  greatest  value  in  ascertaining  the  names 
of  places  while  he  was  with  us,  and  has  enabled  us  to 
add  so  many  names  to  the  map  of  Southern  Moab. 
Another  of  our  party  took  advantage  of  Mr.  Klein's 
escort  to  return  home. 


130  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


CHAPTER  YIL 

From  Rabba  to  the  Anion. — Visit  from  the  Hamideh. — Characters  of 
Zadam  and  Sahan. — Ibn  Tarif. — Present  from  Mr.  Drake. — Ibn 
Taiif's  Attention. — Roman  Way-side  Temple. — Missdehh. — Ham- 
eitat,  the  ancient  Ham. —  Kasr  Rabba. —  Beit  el  Kurm. — Large 
Temple. — Ar  and  Areopolis. — A  pillar  Letter-box  in  the  Waste. — 
News  from  Jerusalem. — Troops  on  the  move  for  our  Rescue. — The 
Mudjelli  returns. —  Restoration  of  Mr.  Klein's  Letter.  —  Shihan. — 
Curious  Inclosure  of  Basalt. — Sihon  and  the  Amorites. — The  View 
from  Jebel  Shihan. — Muhatet  el  Haj. — Jahaz. — Descent  to  the  Ar- 
non. — Basaltic  Dike. — Traces  of  Roman  Road. — Ruined  Forts. — 
"The  City  in  the  midst  of  the  River." — Rugged  Ascent. — A  Mount- 
ain Pass  in  the  Darkness. — Dreary  Camp  on  the  Uplands. — Mr. 
Klein's  Departure. — Aroer. — Topography  of  the  Anion. — Ride  to 
Dhiban,— Its  Ruins. — The  Moabite  Stone. — Conjectures  as  to  its 
original  Position. —  Means  of  its  Preservation. —  An  Oil-press. — 
Identity  of  Dhiban  with  Dibon. 

The  journey  from  Rabba  to  the  north  bank  of  the 
Arnon  is  some  eight  hours,  by  Arab  computation. 
Just  before  starting,  a  Beni  Hamideh  sheik,  Ibn  Tarif, 
appeared.  He  began  by  presenting  testimonials  from 
Palmer  as  his  introduction ;  and  his  eye  brightened 
when  I  told  him  that  Drake,  as  well  as  Palmer,  was  a 
friend  of  mine,  and  that  I  was  the  bearer  of  a  ring  as 
a  present  from  his  old  visitor.  Mr.  Drake's  ring  and 
a  sovereign  were  amply  sufficient  to  appease  his  ap- 
petite. But,  in  spite  of  the  greed  of  the  Arab  charac- 
ter, I  believe  that  an  attested  friend  of  these  gentle- 


VISIT   FROM   THE   HAMIDEH.  131 

men,  even  without  a  backsheesh,  would  not  fare  badly 
at  the  hands  of  Ibn  Tarif. 

Unfortunately,  as  he  told  us,  his  power  of  serving 
them  was  not  equal  to  his  will.  I  am  quite  sure  that, 
if  he  could,  he  would  have  made  any  number  of  Moab- 
ite  stones  to  oblige  them,  for  he  remarked,  with  a  sol- 
emn sigh,  that  it  was  not  every  written  stone  that 
would  please  them. 

He  volunteered  to  escort  us,  and  to  take  us  around 
before  reaching  the  Arnon,  as  he  knew  the  whole 
country  —  a  suggestion  which  met  with  Zadam's 
prompt  approval,  for  he  himself  and  his  men  knew 
but  little  of  the  names  of  the  sites  in  this  immediate 
neighborhood,  out  of  their  own  territory.  We  ar- 
ranged that  Ibn  Tarif  should  accompany  us  on  a  short 
detour  to  the  top  of  Jebel  Shihan,  and  that  we  should 
meet  the  mules  and  the  rest  of  the  part}'  at  the  brow 
of  the  Arnon  ravine. 

We  rode  out  of  the  city  of  Rabba  on  the  west  side, 
and,  turning  to  the  right,  in  a  few  minutes  struck 
the  Roman  road,  which  bisects  the  city  from  south  to 
north,  and  stretches  across  the  plain  straight  as  an  ar- 
row. We  followed  its  course  by  its  side  the  greater 
part  of  the  day.  The  space  between  the  two  parallel 
walls,  five  yards,  is  generally  filled  in  by  the  fallen 
stones  of  the  walls ;  but  in  many  places  the  pavement 
remains  exposed,  though,  for  the  most  part,  its  stones 
have  become  displaced  by  the  action  of  time  and 
weather.  Along  this  stretch  of  road  I  found  three 
Roman  raile-stones  prostrate,  one  of  them  with  the  in- 
scription exposed,  but  defaced. 


132  THE  LAND   OF  MOAB. 

A  mile  from  Eabba,  a  tolerably  perfect  little  Ro- 
man temple  abuts  on  the  road  on  the  left.  The  bases 
of  the  columns  of  the  portico  remain  in  situ,  and  the 
shafts  lie  broken  and  prostrate  by  them.  The  ady- 
tum at  the  west  end  is  only  partially  ruined,  and  the 
lower  cornices  are  still  remaining. 

Half  an  hour  farther,  on  the  east  side  of  the  road, 
are  the  stony  heaps  of  another  ruined  tower,  not 
marked  in  any  of  the  maps,  called  Missdehh.  It 
bears  the  stamp  of  great  antiquity,  and  is  without 
any  traces  of  remains  of  Greek  or  Eoman  architec- 
ture. A  few  minutes  later,  on  the  same  side  of  the 
Roman  road,  are  ruins  of  similar  character,  but  of 
much  greater  extent,  called,  by  Ibn  Tarif,  Hameitat. 
They  are  the  same  as  those  called,  by  Palmer,  Ham- 
mat,  or  Animah,  and  are  laid  down  in  all  the  maps  as 
the  remains  of  the  ancient  Ham  mentioned  in  Gen. 
xiv.,  5,  as  the  place  where  Chedorlaomer  defeated  the 
Zuzim,  Schwartz  is  the  proposer  of  this  identifica- 
tion, which,  although  the  place  does  not  occur  in  af- 
ter-history, is  justified  by  several  ingenious  arguments. 
The  Zuzim  appear  to  be  the  same  as  the  Zamzum- 
mim,  whose  seat  was  in  the  region  afterward  occupied 
by  Ammon,  not  far  from  this,  and  separated  only  by 
a  wide  plain  country,  without  any  natural  obstacles. 
Again,  the  Samaritan  version  has  Lasha  —  i  e.,  Cal- 
lirrhoe,  in  Moab  —  a  little  to  the  north;  and  lastly, 
the  Targums  read  Hernia,  still  more  closely  identical 
with  the  modern  names  given  to  Mr.  Palmer  and  our- 
selves. 


MASSIVE   RUINS.  138 

Immediately  after  Hameitat,  perhaps  three  and  a 
half  or  four  miles  from  Rabba,  are  very  extensive 
later  ruins,  with  a  fine  temple  partly  standing,  the 
west  walls  and  the  portion  toward  the  west  forming  a 
conspicuous  object  and  landmark  from  afar.  It  is  the 
one  feature  on  the  plain  north  of  Rabba,  just  as  one 
solitary  terebinth-tree  to  the  westward  of  the  road  is 
the  single  feature  between  Kerak  and  Rabba.  We  had 
seen  it  long  before  reaching  Rabba,  two  days  since.  It 
was  called  by  some  of  our  guides  Kasr  Rabba  —  i  e., 
"the  Castle  of  Rabba;"  by  others,  Beit  el  Kurm,  "the 
House  of  the  Vineyards ;"  both  which  names  have  been 
given  to  former  travelers.  The  latter  is  evidently  de- 
rived from  the  traces  of  vineyards  in  the  long  naked 
lines  of  stones  to  the  east. 

Kasr  Rabba  has  been  a  magnificent  and  massive 
temple,  and  there  are  very  faint  traces  of  any  other 
buildings  about  it.  It  has  apparently  stood  alone, 
with  perhaps  a  few  chambers  for  attendants  near  it — 
the  temple  of  "Ap»)c  (Mars),  with  which  god  the  Syri- 
ans confused  the  name  of  "Ar."  The  whole  enceinte 
within  the  block  of  great  squared  stones,  some  of 
them  six  feet  by  three,  is  strewn  with  immense  frag- 
ments of  columns,  none  of  them  fluted,  and  with  Co- 
rinthian capitals  and  friezes.  From  the  cracks  in  the 
standing  walls,  it  would  seem  to  have  been  shattered 
by  an  earthquake,  rather  than  overthrown  by  man. 
We  measured  about  a  dozen  portions  of  columns ;  all 
are  of  the  same  diameter,  four  feet  eight  inches,  as  if 
the  shafts  had  not  tapered  at  all.     There  had  been  a 


134  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

few,  but  very  few,  blocks  of  granite  employed  in  the 
building.  Alas !  as  at  Eabba,  the  clouds  and  ele- 
ments combined  against  the  photographers,  and  all 
their  plates  failed. 

It  has  been  suggested  by  Irby  that  this  Beit  Kurm 
is  the  temple  of  Atargatis  Carnion,  or  Carnaim  (1 
Mace,  v.,  43 ;  2  Mace,  xii.,  21).  This,  however,  is  un- 
doubtedly the  same  as  Ashteroth  Karnaim  of  Gen. 
xiv.,  5,  where  Chedorlaoraer  smote  the  Eephaim.  Je- 
rome says  this  place  was  above  Sodom ;  and  again, 
that  the  name  was  applied  in  his  day  to  two  villages 
between  Adara  and  Abila.  The  identification  must 
remain,  so  far,  a  mere  conjecture. 

The  top  of  the  west  wall  is  easily  climbed,  and 
forms  a  capital  look-out  post  over  the  wide  plain. 
We  descried  something  in  the  distance,  and  the  sports- 
men unslung  their  guns  for  an  eagle,  but,  on  approach- 
ing, found  that. the  object  was  a  man's  head  peering 
above  the  highest  angle  of  the  temple.  He  recog- 
nized us  at  once,  and  came  down  from  his  perch.  It 
was  our  messenger  returning  from  Jerusalem  with 
the  consul's  letter.  Fortunate  it  was  that  he  had 
concealed  himself,  for  from  this  very  place  had  issued 
yesterday  the  Kerak  men  who  had  robbed  and  beaten 
the  bearer  of  Mr.  Klein's  letter,  who  was  now  with  us, 
glad  of  Mr.  Klein's  protection  on  his  return.  Hap- 
pily, they  were  now  off  the  scent,  and  had  outwitted 
themselves  by  their  violence  to  Mr.  Klein's  casual 
messenger. 

Mr.  Moore's  letter  was  most  satisfactory.     The  tele- 


DEPARTUEE  FROM  KASR  RABBA.      135 

graph  had  been  used  to  Nablous,  Damascus,  and  Bei- 
rut; the  pasha  had  been  seen  at  Jerusalem,  and  aid 
was  by  this  time  on  the  way,  in  the  shape  of  troops, 
for  our  release.  Our  zealous  consul  had,  indeed,  taken 
prompt  measures.  He  advised  us  not  to  pay  the  ran- 
som, but  to  wait  a  few  days,  as  the  soldiers  would  be 
immediately  dispatched  from  Es  Salt.  Fortunately, 
they  will  find  their  services  unnecessary.  Having 
given  the  messenger  a  good  backsheesh,  and  charged 
him  to  keep  the  matter  secret,  we  left  Kasr  Rabba  at 
10  A.M. 

Our  mules  and  some  of  the  party  now  took  the 
straight  course  by  the  Roman  road  to  the  descent  of 
the  Arnon,  passing  the  ruins  of  Er  Eiha,  "Jericho" 
(another  instance  of  binomenclature,  a  duplicate  name 
occurring  on  the  east  side),  which  we  could  see  about 
two  miles  ahead,  while  we  struck  off  to  the  right  to 
ascend  Jebel  Shihan,  the  highest  point  of  the  plateau. 

Our  Ahimaaz  must  have  had  a  very  near  run ;  for 
half  a  mile  farther  on  we  saw  a  distant  camp  of  black 
tents;  and  the  mudjelli  and  some  horsemen  sallied 
from  them,  and  galloped  toward  us.  They  coolly  told 
us  they  had  Mr.  Klein's  letter,  and  would  surrender 
it  for  a  pound.  We  inquired  if  they  had  the  face  to 
ask  to  be  paid  for  robbing  and  beating  our  messenger. 
After  some  parley,  the  letter  was  handed  over  with- 
out payment.  The  scoundrels  had  by  this  time  cal- 
culated that  the  reply  could  not  have  been  got  so 
soon  from  Jerusalem,  and  that  probably  their  booty 
was  worthless;  for  they  were  very  anxious  to  find 


136  '  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

out  from  Baoud  if  we  had  heard  from  the  consul. 
Poor  Mr.  Klein's  worst  fears  were  confirmed.  There 
was  a  note  from  the  physician  to  say  that  his  son  was 
stricken  with  diphtheria,  and  that  there  was,  humanly 
speaking,  no  hope  for  him. 

Forty-five  minutes  after  leaving  Kasr  Rabba  we 
crossed  the  gentle  depression  which  marks  the  begin- 
ning of  Wady  Ghurreh.  We  had  passed  the  ruins 
of  Mejdelein — i.  e.,  "  the  two  Migdols,"  or  towers — 
close  to  us,  on  our  left.  The  country  was  all  a  level 
rolling  plain,  very  heavy  after  the  rain,  plowed  and 
sown  in  patches  here  and  there,  the  rest  sprinkled 
with  herbaceous  plants,  and  tufts  of  grass  and  stones, 
much  as  a  neglected  fallow  might  be  at  home,  for  the 
Arabs  take  one  crop  and  then  leave  the  spot  fallow 
for  three  or  four  years,  while  they  scratch  up  the  next 
patch.  Sand-grouse,  dotterel,  and  plover,  golden  and 
Asiatic,  were  in  plenty,  but  rose  wildly  out  of  shot; 
and  I  saw  some  of  the  graceful  black-winged  stilt,  al- 
lured by  the  shallow  pools  left  here  and  there  by  the 
rains. 

From  the  slope  of  the  Wady  Ghurreh,  we  struck 
on  another  Roman  or  earlier  road,  or  rather  a  branch 
of  the  road  before  named,  leading  straight  up  to  the 
top  of  Shihan.  For  exactly  half  an  hour,  led  by  Ibn 
Tarif,  we  cantered,  till,  by  a  very  gentle  and  easy 
slope,  we  reached  the  summit. 

For  some  way  before  reaching  the  foot  of  the  hill, 
and  all  up  its  southern  slopes,  but  not  its  northern, 
is  a  wide  extent  of  very  singular  remains — countless 


PRIMEVAL   INCLOSURES.  "  137 

small  inclosures,  which  may  have  been  fields,  gardens, 
or  yards,  all  formed  of  blocks  of  basalt,  not  squared, 
and  no  limestone,  which  is  the  native  rock,  employed. 
They  reminded  me  of  some  of  the  so-called  Cyclopean 
remains  in  the  Hauran,  or  Bashan ;  and  the  basalt 
blocks  have  evidently  been  selected  with  great  care. 
They  cover  many  acres ;  and  the  city  of  Sihon  must 
have  been,  with  these  suburbs,  of  great  extent.  The 
old  road  up  the  hill,  by  which  we  followed,  has  also 
had  its  two  walls  of  basalt,  carefully  fitted,  and  parts 
of  them  still  standing,  in  a  few  places.  The  walls  are 
like  those  of  the  other  roads,  five  yards  apart. 

The  use  of  the  basalt,  unless  it  has  been  taken  from 
the  adjoining  inclosures,  would  seem  to  intimate  an 
earlier  date  than  the  military  occupation  of  Kome. 
The  inclosures,  at  least,  must  be  of  earlier  date,  and, 
if  not  pre-historic,  at  least  pre-Roman.  The  mind  is 
carried  back  to  that  antique  warrior  whose  memory 
is  preserved  in  the  name  of  the  hill,  Sihon,  king  of 
the  Amorites,  the  first  who  vainly  dashed  himself 
against  the  divinely-protected  hosts  of  Israel ;  and  as 
we  read  the  tradition  handed  down  by  Josephus,  of 
the  Amorites  endeavoring  to  escape  for  shelter  to 
their  walls,  and  then  the  mass  of  them  struggling,  in 
their  thirst,  to  get  down  to  the  Arnon  for  water,  and 
slaughtered  in  their  confusion,  we  are  led  to  fancy 
that  perhaps  this  hill  marks  the  battle-field — that  it 
was  behind  that  labyrinth  of  black  stone-walls  the 
Amorites  sought  to  shelter  themselves,  and  the  plain 
between  this  hill  and  the  brow  of  Arnon's  bank  is 


138  *  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

that  across  which  they  strove  to  escape,  in  their  head- 
long rush  to  the  river. 

On  the  top  of  the  hill  has  evidently  been  the  keep 
or  fortress  of  the  town,  which  is  spread  round  the 
central  ruin.  It  has  been  built  chiefly  of  limestone, 
with  blocks  of  basalt  occasionally,  the  debris  of  more 
ancient  buildings.  There  are  the  remains  of  a  Eo- 
man  temple,  some  broken  shafts  and  Ionic  capitals, 
and  several  very  large  domed  cisterns,  or  matamoros, 
which  have  been  carefully  cemented.  Two  of  these 
have  evidently  been  in  great  part  natural  caves 
utilized  and  enlarged.  There  were  also  several  deep 
wells,  all  now  dry  and  half- choked.  The  place  is 
now  used  as  a  cemetery  by  the  Hamideh ;  and  some 
of  the  more  recent  burials  were  marked  by  tresses  of 
plaited  hair,  votive  offerings  hung  on  sticks  stretched 
lengthways  on  the  grass;  while  others  had  ragged 
shirts,  fragments  of  clothing,  and  shepherds'  staves 
as  offerings. 

The  view  from  Shihan  was  almost  a  panorama. 
We  could  see  two  stretches  of  the  Dead  Sea,  north 
and  south  of  Engedi,  separated  by  an  intervening 
ridge,  which  breaks  the  line  of  the  mountains  of  Ju- 
dah.  The  Mount  of  Olives  and  Bethlehem  could  be 
seen  with  the  field-glass.  Beyond  Kerak  stretched 
the  range  toward  Petra  and  Mount  Hor;  to  the  east 
was  the  vast  plain  undulating  to  the  Belka;  while  to 
the  north  the  main  features  were  two  great  clefts,  oi- 
gorges.  The  nearer  gorge,  apparently  just  below  us, 
afforded  a  magnificent  peep — a  sheer  and  winding 


SHIHAN.  139 

cleft  in  the  level  plateau,  extending  to  the  sea  on  one 
side,  and  to  the  horizon  on  the  other.  This  was  the 
reach  of  the  Wady  Mojib,  the  ancient  Arno.  Be- 
yond was  the  broken  valley  of  the  Callirrhoe,  now 
the  Zerka  Main. 

After  taking  angles,  and  exploring  the  ruins,  we 
descended  in  a  north-eastern  direction  by  another  an- 
cient road,  riding  at  a  smart  pace,  and  in  twenty-five 
minutes  passed  through  the  ruins  of  Bal'hua,  perhaps 
the  poorest  and  most  featureless  we  have  seen,  and  all 
leveled  with  the  soil.  After  this,  seventy  minutes 
more  of  slow  and  heavy  riding  through  wet  and  un- 
sound ground,  rendered  more  treacherous  than  usual 
by  the  washing  in  of  the  burrows  of  the  mole-rat 
{Spalax  typhlus) — which  does  duty,  at  least  in  the 
making  of  runs  and  mole-hills,  for  the  common  mole, 
but  excavates  much  larger  tunnels  —  we  reached 
Kirbet  es  Sum'hra,  a  mere  castle,  apparently  of  Sara- 
cenic origin,  near  Muhatet  el  Haj,  the  remains  of  a 
city  of  yet  older  date  than  the  castle,  and  identified 
by  many  with  the  "  Jahaz,"or  "Jahazah,"of  Scrip- 
ture, the  scene  of  the  battle  between  Israel  and  Sihon. 

This  identification  would  harmonize  very  well  with 
the  name  of  Shihan,  given  to  the  hill,  and  with  Jose- 
phus's  tradition  of  the  details.  But  there  is  a  diffi- 
culty which  seems  to  be  insurmountable — viz.,  that 
Jahaz  was  in  the  allotment  of  Eeuben  (Josh,  xiii.,  18), 
and  was  one  of  the  Levitical  cities  (1  Chron.  vi.,  78). 
Now  few  boundary-lines  are  more  clearly  laid  down 
than  that  of  the  Arnon,  dividino;  Eeuben  from  Moab. 


140  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

We  can  scarcely,  therefore,  suppose  that  a  city  on 
the  south  plateau  was  ever  held  by  Israel.  Eusebius 
puts  it  between  Medeba  and  Dibon,  a  more  probable 
location.  All  we  can  gather  from  Isaiah  and  Jere- 
miah is,  that  it  was  in  the  "  Mishor,"  or  highland 
plain. 

Before  arriving  at  Sum'hra,  we  came  up  with  our 
convoy  in  sorry  plight.  Heavy  ground,  wet  bottoms 
of  mire  and  water,  with  little  treacherous  bogs,  had 
brought  down  mule  after  mule,  and  a  mile  an  hour 
was  a  good  pace  over  what,  in  ordinary  weather, 
would  have  been  good  galloping  ground.  Sometimes 
three  together  would  be  lying  helpless  and  immov- 
able, with  their  burdens  in  the  mud.  Here  we  bid 
farewell  to  our  Hamideh  guide,  Ibn  Tarif. 

The  ravine  of  the  Arnon  does  not  show  till  we  are 
close  upon  it.  In  this  treeless  land  a  fair-sized  tere- 
binth, just  at  the  edge  where  the  path  begins  to  de- 
scend, was  a  conspicuous  guide-post;  and  certainly 
without  it  a  stranger  might  search  long  for  the  track. 
The  rolling  slopes  come  close  to  the  precipitous  de- 
scent, the  plain  being  perfectly  level  on  either  side, 
breaking  away  abruptly  in  limestone  precipices  to  a 
great  depth.  No  idea  of  the  rift  can  be  formed  till 
the  very  edge  is  reached.  As  far  as  we  could  cal- 
culate by  observation,  the  width  is  about  three  miles 
from  crest  to  crest ;  the  depth  by  our  barometers  2150 
feet  from  the  south  side,  which  runs  for  some  distance 
nearly  200  feet  higher  than  the  northern  edge.  This 
may  possibly  be  accounted  for  by  the  fact  that  on  the 


TRACES  OF  A  ROMAN  ROAD,        141 

south  edge  is  a  bold  basaltic  dike  or  stream  over- 
lying the  limestone,  while  the  north  is  destitute  of 
basalt. 

The  boulders  have  rolled  down  the  slopes  in  wild, 
fantastic  confusion,  and  add  much  to  the  effect  and 
grandeur  of  the  southern  bank.  We  were  much 
struck  by  the  contrast  between  the  two  sides;  and 
this  impression  was  confirmed  when,  next  day,  we 
viewed  the  southern  from  the  northern  edge.  The 
protrusion  of  the  basaltic  dike  has  been  subsequent 
to  the  formation  of  the  wady,  and  the  continued  de- 
tachment of  its  fragments  has  made  the  slope  less 
precipitous,  giving  a  variety  to  the  coloring  and  the 
vegetation,  wanting  on  the  other  side.  The  northern 
bank,  on  the  contrary,  looked  an  almost  unbroken 
precipice  of  marly  limestone,  faintly  tinged  with  the 
green  hue  of  a  very  sparse  vegetation,  and  occasion- 
ally protruding  cliffs  and  needles,  shining  pink  in  the 
sunbeams.  No  search  could  detect  at  this  distance 
any  path,  or  apparent  possibility  of  a  path,  up  the 
rugged  terrace  in  front. 

Though,  indeed,  not  very  difficult,  except  among 
the  basaltic  boulders,  the  path  was  not  easily  made 
out  on  the  south  side,  even  when  upon  it.  Once  it 
has  been  a  chariot  road;  and  as  we  descended  the 
zigzag,  we  frequently  met  with  its  traces;  and  the 
piers  of  the  Roman  (?)  bridge  at  the  bottom  still  stand 
in  the  stream.  An  almond-tree  was  in  full  blossom 
near  the  top ;  tufts  of  asphodel  and  gorgeous  scarlet 
anemones  pushing  out  among  the  stones  told  of  a  dif- 
10 


142  THE    LAND   OF    MOAB. 

ferent  climate  from  that  we  had  left,  where  scarce  a 
symptom  of  spring  could  as  yet  be  seen. 

Free,  now,  from  every  annoyance,  in  the  land  of 
friends,  careless  whether  we  met  Beni  Sakk'r  oi- 
Hamideh,  both  alike  being  safe  allies,  we  enjoyed  the 
freedom  of  our  scramble  down  this  wild  pass.  No- 
where was  the  path  any  thing  like  the  cliff  of  Ziz. 
Only  at  the  upper  part,  where  the  track  descends 
among  a  torrent  of  basaltic  boulders,  was  it  prudent 
to  dismount  from  our  goat-like  horses.  Pigeons  and 
partridges  abounded,  and  the  younger  members  of 
the  party  left  their  horses,  or  were  left  by  them,  to 
find  their  own  way,  and  went  on  foot  throughout. 
One  of  them  was  landed  aloft  with  each  foot  on  a 
boulder,  as  his  horse  pushed  between  them,  and,  pass- 
ing from  beneath  him,  scrambled  whinnying  after  the 
leaders  in  front,  taking  his  own  short  cut  to  the  bot- 
tom, and  leaving  his  rider  astride. 

Steep  as  the  descent  looks,  yet,  when  in  it,  it  proves 
to  be  rather  a  rugged  water-worn  ravine  than  a  pre- 
cipitous cliff.  A  faint  shade  of  budding  green  tints 
the  slopes,  and  in  a  few  days  will  evidently  clothe  the 
•whole  brown  surface.  Three-quarters  of  an  hour 
down,  we  passed  an  old  fort  in  ruins,  with  broken 
columns  strewn  about.  A  little  above  this  was  a 
broken  Roman  mile  -  stone,  and  two  others  lower 
down.  Twenty  minutes  after  this  fort,  we  passed  an- 
other of  larger  size,  with  fragments  of  shafts,  bases  in 
situ,  and  many  old  foundations,  some  of  them  crossing 
the  old  Roman  way,  which  here  was  very  distinct. 


"CITY  IN  THE   MIDST   OF  THE   KIVER."         143 

In  Other  places,  what  seemed  to  be  the  foundations 
of  buildings  must  have  been  walls  of  masonry  built 
across  the  path,  to  prevent  the  torrents  from  washing 
away  its  material. 

In  the  steeper  parts  of  the  pass  many  piles  of  stones 
were  heaped  on  the  boulders,  said,  by  Burckhardt,  to 
be  provided  as  missiles  for  travelers  in  case  of  attack, 
but  more  probably  only  placed  there  to  guide  him  on 
his  way,  as  we  have  noticed  elsewhere.  The  arch  of 
the  bridge,  which  Irby  describes,  has  now  disappear- 
ed, and  only  the  base  is  left. 

The  mules  were  behind  us ;  and  after  a  bathe,  and 
a  draught  of  the  Arnon,  we  paused  to  enjoy  the  rich 
tropical  vegetation  and  genial  warmth  of  this  great 
depth.  Water  never  fails;  the  pools  were  full  of 
fish;  the  dark  green  oleanders  were  budding  for 
bloom.  Above  the  Roman  bridge  are  some  faint  re- 
mains of  early  buildings ;  perhaps  "  the  city  that  is  in 
the  midst  of  the  river"  (Josh,  xiii.,  16).  At  least,  it 
is  scarcely  possible  that  such  exuberant  vegetation, 
with  perennial  moisture,  should  have  remained  un- 
appropriated in  the  time  of  Israel's  greatness ;  and 
whether  the  place  so  vaguely  spoken  of  were  above 
or  below  the  fords,  "cities"  or  villages  there  were 
sure  to  be  in  the  midst  of  the  "  river,"  or  wady. 

The  ascent  we  calculated  at  1900  feet,  250  feet  low- 
er than  the  other  side.  While  daylight  lasted  it  was 
a  lovely  ride,  with  the  views  changing  at  every  turn, 
and  the  path  comparatively  easy.  Partridges  really 
swarmed ;    the  lovely  little  Hey's  partridge,  with  its 


144  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

delicate  plumage  {Ammoperdix  heyi),  on  the  lower  and 
warmer  part  of  the  pass,  and  higher  up  the  fine  Greek 
partridge  {Caccabis  suxatilis),  giving  out  his  cheery 
"chuckor-chuckor  "  from  the  top  of  every  rock  and 
boulder.  An  abundant  supply  for  supper  was  easily 
secured. 

Nearer  the  top,  the  path,  though  free  from  the  ba- 
salt boulders  which  encumber  the  south  side,  was  per- 
ilous enough  in  the  dusk.  We  could  not  make  way 
as  we  had  calculated.  Dismounting,  and  leaving  our 
horses  to  find  the  path,  while  we  held  on  to  their  tails, 
we  debouched  on  the  bleak  plain,  a  few  hundred  yards 
west  of  Ara'ar,  the  desolate  heap  which  marks  the 
Biblical  Aroer.  Bitter  and  cold  swept  the  wind ; 
shelter  there  was  none ;  but  here  we  must  camp. 
The  mules  were  an  hour  behind,  and  must  get  over 
the  precipices  as  best  they  might,  by  the  aid  of  a 
young  moon,  which  had,  happily,  just  risen.  No  wa- 
ter, no  wood.  No  fear  of  our  horses  straying  now ; 
they  are  too  tired.  "We  left  them  to  themselves. 
Out  with  our  knives,  we  cut  such  little  brush-wood 
as  we  could,  scraps  of  Poterium^  none  of  it  more  than 
three  inches  high,  groping  for  it  in  the  dark  with  our 
feet.  Sheik  Zadam,  who  was  with  us,  soon  kindled 
a  fire  on  the  waste,  and  quick  as  thought,  plucked, 
split  up,  and  broiled  a  freshly-shot  partridge. 

Then,  going  to  the  brow,  we  fired  occasional  sig- 
nal-guns, and  one  by  one  the  mules  appeared.  First 
came  our  cook  with  a  lamb,  which  he  had  bought  in 
the  morning,  across  his  saddle-bow.      He  threw  it 


MR.  KLEIN'S   DEPARTURE.  145 

down  ;  the  active  young  boy,  Sahan,  seizing  it,  killed 
it,  skinned  it,  and,  in  a  few  minutes,  offered  us,  with 
his  fingers,  delicious  broiled  liver  and  heart.  In  two 
hours  more  the  last  donkey  arrived,  and  not  a  canteen 
was  missing. 

February  16.  —  At  6.80  A.M.,  cold  and  tired,  we 
turned  out  to  see  our  excellent  friend  and  counselor 
off  on  his  sorrowful  journey.  The  sheik  sent,  as 
o-uide  and  guard  with  Mr.  Klein  and  his  companion, 
only  a  single  slave,  with  his  spear,  as  their  route  lay 
through  his  own  country ;  and  gave  them,  under  his 
seal,  a  letter  commendatory  to  the  tribes  of  the  Jor- 
dan. 

We  turned  in  again  for  a  short  nap,  for  there  was 
no  further  occasion  for  forced  marches;  and  after- 
ward, before  striking  camp,  I  went  a  little  to  the  east- 
ward, to  examine  the  ruins  of  Ara'ar  (Aroer),  just 
overhanging  the  brow,  and  to  take  a  good  survey  of 
the  country.  The  ruins  of  Ara'ar  are  featureless,  and 
I  could  find  no  traces  of  Eoman  temples,  though  sev- 
eral arches  are  still  standing,  and  there  are  the  usual 
number  of  wells  and  cisterns.* 

While  we  stood  on  the  edge,  looking  down  into 
that  noble  rift,  the  great  birds  of  prey  were  sallying 

*  The  Wady  Mojib,  or  Arnon,  takes  its  name  only  a  mile  or  two 
above  this,  being  formed  by  the  junction  of  three  wadys  with  running 
streams.  All  these  ravines  seemed  of  nearly  equal  depth  :  the  north- 
ern one,  Sheik  Zadam,  called  Wady  Seideh,  the  name  given  in  all  the 
maps  to  the  central  one,  which  he  named  Mkharrhas  ;  and  the  south- 
ern small  one  Bal'hua. 


14:6  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

forth  to  forage.  The  griflfons  circled  and  soared  from 
their  eyries,  lower  down,  till  lost  to  sight  in  the  sky  ; 
the  buzzards  lazily  flapped  their  heavy  wings  as  they 
crossed  and  recrossed ;  but,  grandest  ornithological 
sight  of  all,  a  pair  of  lammergeyers  {Gypaetus  barha- 
ius),  the  largest  on  the  wing  of  our  raptorial  birds, 
kept  sailing  up  and  down,  backward  and  forward, 
quartering  the  valley,  and  keeping  always  close  to 
the  brow,  the  sinuosities  of  which  they  followed  with- 
out a  perceptible  movement  of  their  wings ;  only  their 
long  tails  gently  steering  them  in  and  out,  as  each 
time  they'passed  us,  easily  within  gunshot,  on  a  level 
with  our  eyes.  They  were  perfectly  fearless,  as  though 
they  knew  the  sportsmen  had  only  No.  7  in  their  bar- 
rels; and  in  the  morning  sunlight  their  brown  tails 
and  wings  gleamed  with  a  rich  copper  hue,  and  their 
ruddy  breasts  shone  brightly  golden. 

Reluctantly  we  turned  from  the  brow  of  the  Ar- 
non,  resolved  to  follow  down  its  course  at  some  future 
day ;  an  intention  which  want  of  time  prevented  our 
carrying  out.  Turning  due  north  from  our  camp, 
across  a  bleak  and  dreary  plain,  we  reached  Dhiban, 
the  ancient  Dibon,  in  exactly  half  an  hour.  We  had 
abundant  leisure,  as  the  baggage  had  been  sent  on 
with  a  guide  directly  across  the  plain  to  Um  Rasas, 
our  next  camp;  and  our  road  was  across  a  hard  plain, 
without  a  gully  or  a  wady  the  whole  way. 

Dhiban  is  quite  as  dreary  and  featureless  a  ruin  as 
any  other  of  the  Moabite  desolate  heaps.  With  its  wa- 
terless plain,  the  prophecy  is  fulfilled — "  Thou  daugh- 


RUINS   OF   DIBOX.  l^iT 

ter  that  dost  inhabit  Dibon,  come  down  from  thy  glory, 
and  sit 'in  thirst;  for  the  spoiler  of  Moab  shall  come 
upon  thee,  and  he  shall  destroy  thy  strong  holds" 
(Jer.  xlviii.,  18).  Singularly  appropriate,  too,  is  the 
denunciation  on  Aroer,  in  the  next  verse,  when  we 
stand  on  its  site  just  by  the  edge  of- the  arterial  high- 
way of  Moab,  and  look  down  on  the  pass  of  which 
this  place  commands  so  complete  a  view—"  0  inhab- 
itant of  Aroer,  stand  by  the  way,  and  espy ;  ask  him 
that  fleeth,  and  her  that  escapeth,  and  say,  What  is 

done?" 

Like  Kiriathaim,  and  so  many  other  Moabite  towns, 
Dibon  is  a  twin  city,  upon  two  adjacent  knolls,  the 
ruins  covering  not  only  the  tops,  but  the  sides,  to  their 
base,  and  surrounded  by  one  common  wall.  Close 
under  both  knolls,  on  the  west,  runs  a  little  wady,  in 
which,  after  the  late  rains,  we  found  a  puddle  of  wa- 
ter here  and  there;  and  beyond  the  wady  the  even 
plain  ceases,  and  the  country  becomes  rocky  and  un- 
dulating. All  the  hills  are  limestone,  and  there  is  no 
trace  of  any  basalt  but  what  has  been  carried  here  by 
man.  Still  there  are  many  basaltic  blocks,  dressed, 
and  often  with  marks  of  lime  on  them,  evidently  used 
in  masonry;  and  we  found  a  few  traces  of  carvings 
on  other  stones.  The  place  is  full  of  caverns,  cisterns, 
vaulted  under-ground  store-houses,  and  rude  semicir- 
cular arches,  like  the  rest. 

The  basalt  would  seem  to  have  been  the  fovorite 
material  of  the  earlier  Cyclopean  builders,  as  in  Ba- 
shan,  and  then  to  have  been  used  up  by  the  construct- 


148 


THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


ors  of  the  later  town,  which  can  not  be  much  earlier 
than  Eoman,  at  least  in  the  portions  above  ground. 

We  went  to  see  the  spot  where  the  famous  Moabite 
Stone,  or  monolith  of  King  Mesha,  was  found.  It  is 
quite  within  the  old  citj  walls,  and  near  what,  we  pre- 
sume, was  the  gate-way,  close  to  where  the  road  has 


NO.  9.      RUINS  OF  DHIBAN,  WHERE  THE  MOABITE  STONE  WAS  FOUND. 

crossed  it.  Very  near  this  spot  it  was  afterward  bu- 
ried, when  the  dispute  about  its  proprietorship  arose 
among  the  Hamideh ;  and  it  was  then,  as  is  too  well 
known,  broken  by  one  party  of  the  rival  claimants. 
From  all  we  heard  from  Mr.  Klein,  its  first  discover- 
er, and,  alas,  the  only  European  who  has  ever  seen  it 


CONJECTURES  RESPECTING  THE   STONE.         149 

entire;  and  from  what  Zadam  pointed  out  to  us  of 
its  position,  it  seems  to  me  highly  improbable  that  the 
stone  has  been  for  2500  years  exposed  to  the  light  ot 
day  still  less  that  it  could  have  been  ongmally  set 
up  in  the  spot  where  Mr.  Klein  saw  it  lying,  with  the 
inscription  uppermost. 

I  do  not  presume  to  guess  where  "Korcha     was, 
nor  where  the  stone  was  erected  by  Kmg  Mesha; 
but  seeing  that  all  the  basalt  blocks  must  have  been 
brouo-ht  here  from  some  distance,  and  that  there  are 
many  others   at  Dhiban  many  times  the   size   and 
weight  of  this  tablet  (for  though  it  has  been  called 
"this  hu-e  block  of  basalt,"  it  only  measured  three 
and  a  half  feet  by  two  feet),  it  seems  most  reasonable 
to  conjecture  that  it  had  been  removed  from  its  orig- 
inal position,  and  used  up  as  building  material  by  the 
Romans,  or  some  of  their  predecessors,  who  were  ig- 
norant of,  or  indifferent  to,  its  import;  and  that,  after 
lyino-  embedded  and  secure  for  ages,  it  has,  through 
the  progress  of  dilapidation,  or  by  earthquake,  been 
thrown  down,  or  fallen  from  its  place,  and  the  care- 
fully-preserved inscriptions  been   again  exposed  to 

day.* 

*  From  the  appearance  of  the  ruins  near,  and  from  the  replies  of 
the  Arabs  to  my  inquiries,  I  can  not  but  beheve  that  the  exposure  of 
the  celebrated  monolith  dates  only  from  the  earthquake  of  1st  Janu- 
ary 1837.  This  earthquake  was  the  most  destructive  of  any  on  rec- 
ord in  Syria,  and  caused  a  fearful  sacrifice  of  human  life  at  Safed,  m 
Galilee,  where  several  thousand  persons  were  buried  under  the  rums 
As  far  as  we  can  trace  it,  the  axis  of  the  disturbance  must  have  passed 
very  near  Dibon.     Many  of  the  Arabs  remember  a  terrific  earthquake 


150  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

We  must  bear  in  mind  that  the  original  Moabites 
disappear  from  history  after  the  sweep  of  Nebuchad- 
nezzar's conquests.  With  them  probably  disappear- 
ed the  knowledge  of  the  Phoenician  character,  for  we 
tind  abundance  of  Nabathasan  inscriptions  of  a  date 
apparently  older  than  the  Eoman  conquests,  but 
scarce  any  unquestioned  Phoenician.  It  would  be 
strangely  out  of  keeping  with  Oriental  habits  and 
ways,  if  the  new-comers  had  had  any  reverence  for 
the  lapidary  records  of  their  predecessors ;  still  more 
so  if,  unable  to  decipher  these  records,  they  had  re- 
spected them. 

On  the  top  of  one  of  the  knolls  there  is  still  a  block 
of  masonry,  apparently  the  keep,  or  castle.  Here  we 
photographed,  and  took  careful  observations  with  sex- 
tant and  compass,  to  fix  our  position.  Two  known 
points  from  Dhiban  were  Jebel  Attarus  and  Jebel 
Shihan. 

Trotter  meantime,  in  hunting  about  the  ruins,  dis- 
tinguished himself  by  discovering  a  new  Moabite 
stone.  It  was  a  block  of  basalt  two  feet  five  inches 
high,  hollowed  and  perforated  inside  to  the  shape  of 
an  hour-glass,  and  with  a  massive  boss  protruding 
on  either  side.  Its  use  was  not  at  first  divined  ;  but, 
not  far  off,  he  afterward  found,  in  the  bed  of  the 
wady,  the  stone  which  had  fitted  into  the  upper  cup, 

which  occurred  when  they  were  children,  and  which  overthrew  many 
columns  and  arches  in  the  old  cities.  Considering  the  comparative 
freshness  of  the  inscription  on  the  Moabite  Stone,  it  may  probably 
have  been  exposed  for  not  more  than  the  last  thirty-five  years. 


IDENTITY   OF   DIBON   AND   DHIBAN.  151 

and  which  proved  it  to  have  been  an  oil -crushing- 
press.  The  upper  stone  was  also  of 
basalt.  Happily  there  was  no  in- 
scription on  it  about  which  to  be 
inconveniently  dogmatic;  so  it  was 
satisfactorily  agreed  that  it  might 
have  been  the  altar  on  which  Mesha 
offered  up  his  son  on  the  walls  of  ^^-i^-  oi^-pkess. 
his  capital.  The  smaller  fragment  was  laboriously 
carried  half  a  mile  up  the  hill,  to  be  preserved  as  a 
trophy,  when  it  was  found  that  the  camera-bearing 
donkey  had  gone  on ;  and  the  stone  is  left  for  more 
enterprising  explorers. 

The  identification  of  Dibon  and  Dhiban  can  not  be 
questioned.  The  place  was  known  to  Eusebius  and 
Jerome  under  the  name  Dabon,  or  Dibon,  and  is 
spoken  of  by  them  as  kw/xt)  TramueyWrig  wapa  tov  'Ap- 
vwvav.  That  Jerome  meant  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Arnon  is  clear,  for  he  adds  that  it  was  in  that  country 
originally  Moabite,  then  taken  by  Sihon,  and  wrested 
from  him  by  Israel.  The  fact  of  its  being  three  miles 
retired  from  the  brow  of  the  valley,  when  we  note 
that  there  are  no  intervening  features,  is  not  sufficient 
to  raise  a  difficulty  from  the  expression,  "  by  the  side 
of  the  Arnon."  The  name  was  first  recorded  in  mod- 
ern times  by  Seetzen,  the  pioneer  of  Moabite  explora- 
tion. From  some  passages  in  Scripture,  where  Dibon 
is  mentioned  (Isa.  xv.,  2;  Jer.  xlviii.,  18)  — "Come 
down,"  etc. — it  would  seem  to  have  been  a  "high 
place;"  yet  Burckhardt  observes  that  "it  is  situated 


162  THE   LAND    OF   MOAB. 

« 

in  a  low  ground  of  the  Koura."  But,  looked  upon 
from  the  east,  it  is  on  high  ground,  though  low  from 
the  western  ridge ;  and  being  placed  on  two  hills,  the 
first  that  rise  from  the  east,  the  cry  "  Come  down  " 
would  be  exceedingly  applicable.  A  similar  discrep- 
ancy occurs  in  the  description  of  Medeba,  said,  by  a 
very  careful  and  accurate  observer,  who  did  not  visit 
it,  but  saw  it  from  the  west,  to  be  in  a  hollow,  whereas 
it  is  really  on  a  hill. 


FROM    DIBON   EASTWARD.  153 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

Fiom  Dibon  eastward.— Beni  Sakk'r  Flocks  and  Herds.— The  Plain 
of  the  Vineyards.— Khibuyeh.— The  Ruins  of  Urn  Rasas.— Its 
Walls.— Abundance  of  Game.— Wild-cats.— Beni  Sakk'r  Camp.— 
Considerate  Neighbors.— Deep  Tank.— The  Raven's  Home.— Urn 
Rasas,  within  the  Walls  and  without.— Three  ruined  Churches.— 
Apses  still  remaining. — Arches  and  Streets. — Amphitheatre. — Iso- 
lated mortuary  Tower.— Church  in  the  Plain.— Quaint  Tradition 
and  Legend.— Freedom  of  the  Desert. — Intense  Cold. — Animal  Life 
of  the  Plains. —  M'Seitbeh.— Ancient  Block-houses. — Wady  Butm. 
—Letters  from  the  Brigade.— A  long  Sunday's  Ride.— Crossing  the 
Themed.— Visit  to  Zadam's  Tent.— Westward  ho!— Rumors  of 
the  Troops.— Ajermeh  Camp.— Ride  in  the  Dark. — A  Turcoman 
Guide.— The  Camp.— Reception  by  the  Pasha.— Depositions  taken 
Jown.— A  bitter  Night.— Beiram.— Grand  Salute.— Speculations  on 
Kerak. 

From  Dibon  we  set  our  face  toward  the  wilderness, 
looking  eastward  on  the  "  Mishor,"  or  "plain  coun- 
try "  of  Moab  (Jer,  xlviii.,  21).  Without  mules  to 
look  after;  without  fear  of  molestation  or  demands 
for  black-mail;  with  a  bright  sun  and  a  fresh  breeze, 
a  cool  day  with  floating  clouds;  with  the  party  in 
high  spirits  and  perfect  harmony ;  with  the  sense  of 
entering  upon  a  piece  of  new  country  — nothing  could 
be  more  enjoyable  than  the  ride  across  the  grass  coun- 
try parallel  with  one  of  the  feeders  of  the  Arnon,  the 
Seil  Lejum. 

The  country  differs  from  that  south  of  the  river  in 


154  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

the  absence  of  occasional  cultivation.  East  of  Di- 
bon  no  plow  disturbs  the  soil,  and  consequently  the 
ground  is  firmer,  and  there  is  a  nearer  approach  to 
turf  in  the  character  of  the  herbage.  The  whole  of 
it,  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  or  glass  sweep,  was  dot- 
ted with  flocks  and  herds  of  sheep  and  goats,  each 
small  flock  with  their  attendant  shepherd,  often  a 
child,  but  the  tents  ("Beit  char" — i.  e.,  homestead) 
invisible,  until,  in  some  little  depression  of  a  very  few 
feet,  we  would  suddenly  ride  close  upon  a  group  of 
low  black  specks  of  camels'  hair,  the  homes  of  the 
Beni  Sakk'r.  The  tribe  was  now  all  distributed  over 
this  district,  while  the  early  spring  grass  was  shoot- 
ing, which  in  the  summer  is  here  completely  burned 
up.  Here  one  can  well  understand  the  reproach  of 
Deborah,  "  Why  abodest  thou  among  the  sheep-folds, 
to  hear  the  bleatings  of  the  flocks?"  No  wonder, 
with  such  a  country,  that  the  sheep-masters  elected  to 
remain  on  this  side  of  Jordan. 

In  twenty  minutes  after  leaving  Dhiban,  we  found 
ourselves  riding  up  a  shallow  depression,  scarcely  to 
be  called  a  valley,  with  traces  of  terraces  and  walls, 
now  grass-grown  ridges,  running  across  it  every  few 
hundred  yards  up  the  hill -sides.  Upon  inquiring 
what  these  meant,  we  could  get  no  explanation,  but 
were  told  the  valley  was  called  "Kurm  Dhiban" — i.  e.. 
the  Vineyards  of  Dibon.  The  depression  was  about 
three  miles  long.  The  name  has  been  preserved  by 
men  who  probably  never  saw  a  vine  in  their  lives, 
and  who  had  no  idea  of  the  rneanincj  of  the   old 


FROM   DIBON   EASTWARD.  155 

"dikes,"  as  they  might  bo  called — an  instance  of  the 
persistency  of  Semitic  nomenclature.  But  more,  it 
was  an  interesting  illustration  of  a  trivial  expression 
in  the  book  of  Judges.  When  Jephthah,  in  his  war 
against  the  Ammonites,  defeated  them  on  this  plain, 
we  read  (Judg.  xi.,  33),  '"He  smote  them  from  Aroer, 
even  till  thou  come  to  Minnith,  even  twenty  cities, 
and  unto  the  plain  of  the  vineyards^  with  a  very  great 
slaughter."  Here,  then,  exactly  in  the  route  which 
it  was  most  likely  a  defeated  army  of  Ammonites 
from  the  east  would  take,  the  struggle  having  been  at 
Aroer,  the  name  remains,  though  in  another  language, 
identical  in  signification.  Where  Minnith  was  we 
know  not.  It  has  been  suggested  that  it  may  be 
MenjaJi^  a  site  said  to  be  seven  miles  east  of  Heshban, 
but  of  which  name  or  place  we  could  find  no  trace 
on  the  spot  assigned  to  it,  or  elsewhere.  But  at  least 
there  are  traces  here  which  attest  the  appropriateness 
of  the  name,  "  Plain  of  the  Vineyards." 

An  hour  east  of  Dibon  is  Eujum  Selim,  a  shape- 
less mass  of  ruins,  on  a  small  knoll.  To  the  north 
of  us,  one  mile  and  a  quarter  distant,  were  the  ruins 
of  Rhibuyeh ;  and  two  very  distant  ruins  were  also 
pointed  out  to  us,  Kasr  el  Alakhi  and  Kasr  Azizi. 
We  made  a  detour  to  Rhibuyeh,  which  seems  to 
have  been  little  more  than  a  large  block-house,  round 
which  a  few  huts  may  have  clustered. 

Far  ahead  we  could  see  our  bourne,  marked  by  a 
tall,  square  tower  on  the  plain,  with  a  long  mass  of 
ruin  crowning  a  ridge  a  little  to  the  south  of  it.     This 


156  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB, 

was  Um  Easas,  a  large,  solidly-built,  square  city,  far 
more  perfect  than  any  thing  we  have  before  seen. 
The  walls  of  the  old  city  are  still  entire  and  intact 
for  a  part  of  their  height,  and  had  an  imposing  ap- 
pearance as  we  neared  them  from  the  west. 

In  order  to  reach  our  camp,  we  had  to  wind  round 
the  walls ;  and  as  we  sharply  turned  a  corner,  Zadam 
cleverly  shot  a  very  large  wild-cat  {Felis  caligata),  an 
animal  I  had  once  seen,  but  never  procured,  in  Pales- 
tine.    We  afterward  obtained  another  specimen. 

Snugly  sheltered  on  a  slope,  under  the  eastern  wall 
of  the  city,  we  found  our  camp,  tents  already  pitched, 
and  the  union-jack  flying.  A  few  yards  behind  us, 
close  to  the  walls,  were  a  row  of  half  a  dozen  tents  of 
Beni  Sakk'r  shepherds,  and  very  convenient  neigh- 
bors, ready  to  supply  guards  by  night  and  guides 
by  day ;  while  their  flocks  supplied  us  with  milk  and 
lamb,  whenever  needed,  for  the  moderate  price  of 
about  a  dollar  a  lamb.  Unlike  our  guardians  at 
Kerak,  these  people  were  too  well  bred  ever  to  in- 
trude, or  even  sit  about  our  tents.  Never  during  our 
sojourn  with  them  had  we  once  to  complain  of  the 
slightest  breach  of  good  manners.  Strange  as  must 
have  been  our  ways  and  doings  to  them,  our  privacy 
was  strictly  respected.  They  were  always  ready  to 
do  any  little  friendly  ofiice;  and  if  rewarded  by  a 
cup  of  coffee,  sat  as  long  as  politeness  required,  and 
then  rose  and  withdrew ;  and  yet  many  of  them  had 
never  before  spoken  with  a  European. 

A  few  yards  below  us  was  a  large  open  reservoir, 


UM   RASAS.  157 

about  thirty  yards  by  eighteen  inside,  and  very  deep. 
A  flight  of  steps  in  one  corner  enabled  the  water-car- 
riers to  descend  about  thirty  feet,  to  the  surface  of  the 
water,  which  still  remains  to  some  little  depth  inside. 
Happily,  the  staircase  was  too  steep  to  allow  the  ani- 
mals to  go  down  and  wallow  in  our  only  supply  of 
drinking-water,  as  they  did  elsewhere.  The  mason- 
ry of  this  tank  was  Eoman,  or  earlier,  and  it  has,  ap- 
parently, been  originally  domed,  the  voussoirs  of  the 
arches  lying  now  at  the  bottom  of  the  cistern. 

We  found  two  other  great  cisterns,  outside  the 
town,  of  at  least  equal  size.  One  of  them  still  con- 
tains water,  and  has  the  vaulted  roof  yet  entire. 
There  is  the  opening  in  the  centre,  now  used  not  so 
much  by  man  as  by  pigeons  (the  common  blue  rock- 
dove),  kestrels,  ravens,  jackdaws,  and  owls,  who  resort 
thither  to  quench  their  thirst,  and  the  pigeons  and 
owls,  also,  to  roost.  Our  arrival  was  an  annoyance 
to  the  ravens,  for  they  evidently  preferred  the  open 
tank  in  front  of  our  tents ;  but  finding  some  of  the 
party  continually  about,  and  the  muleteers  on  the 
steps  with  their  skins,  the  old  ravens  would  put  in 
a  vigorous  protest,  croak  indignantly  and  ominously 
for  a  few  moments  at  the  farther  end  of  the  tank,  and 
then  shuffle  off  to  the  other  reservoir. 

As  we  made  Um  Kasas  our  head-quarters  for  a 
week,  and  divided  ourselves  into  two  or  three  parties 
each  day,  the  place  and  neighborhood  were  pretty 
well  ransacked.  Um  Easas  itself  can  be  better  un- 
derstood by  a  sketch  than  by  description.     The  walls 

11 


158  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

have  evidently  been  repaired  at  some  later  date  by 
ruder  hands  than  the  original  builders,  and  after  the 
same  method  which  has  been  employed  in  construct- 
ing a  Saracenic  khan  in  the  neighborhood  (Zebib). 
Probably,  in  the  earlier  days  of  the  Caliphate,  soon 
after  its  destruction,  it  has  been  hastily  repaired  as 
a  Saracen  fort  for  the  protection  of  the  pilgrim  road 
from  Damascus  to  Mecca.     Now  all  within  these  walls 
is  utterly  desolate.      It  is  difficult  to  clamber^ among 
the  mass  of  ruins,  not  grass-grown,  but  as  if  the  ma- 
son's stones  had,  as  soon  as  dressed,  been  turned  pro- 
miscuously out  of  a  wheelbarrow  over  acres  of  land. 
The  plan  is  square.     There  has  been   no  vacant  or 
open  place,  square   or   court,  anywhere  within    the 
walls,  as  far  as  we  could  judge.     But  the  number  of 
small  semicircular  arches  which  are  standing  every- 
where, and  which  have  formed  both  the  roofs   of 
houses  and  the  arcades  of  streets,  is  really  countless. 
They  remain  intact  both  above  and  below  the  rub- 
bish.    It  was  often  easy  to  see  the  old  street  among 
the  debris  below,  as  we  stepped  from  arch  to  arch  of 
these  long  parallel  arcades.     To  any  one  who  remem- 
bers, for  instance,  the  street  architecture  of  Jerusalem 
from  the  Church  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  toward  the 
Damascus  Gate,  the  solution  of  these  arches  is  easy. 

To  traverse  and  quarter  these  ruins  is  a  good  day's 
^ork— one  uninterrupted  mass,  yet  with  no  great  or 
special  features,  except  three  churches ;  one  near  the 
north-east  angle,  another  at  the  south-east  angle,  and 
the  third  near  the  centre  of  the  east  part  of  the  town. 


RUINS   OF   UM   RASAS.  159 

Two  other  churches,  or  what  seem  to  have  been 
churches,  are  to  be  found  in  the  south-west  quarter; 
but  they  are  now  completely  ruined.  In  all  of  the 
three  first  named  the  apse  remains,  except  the  roof 
Two  have,  also,  the  apses  of  the  side  aisles  still  stand- 
ing. In  the  central  apse  of  one  the  Greek  crosses  on 
the  bosses  of  the  bead-line  along  the  architrave  still 
remain  very  distinct, alternating  with  sculptured  knots 
or  figures.  Close  to  the  central  church  we  found  a 
large  slab  with  a  Greek  cro.ss  of  some  size  deeply 
engraved  on  its  face.  On  several  of  the  lintels  still 
standing  were  carved  crosses  and  other  sculptures, 
which  we  photographed. 

Standing  over  the  ruins,  it  was  easy  to  trace  the 
shape  of  the  churches,  and  even  the  marks  of  the  ele- 
vations at  the  east  end.  In  one  of  them  there  are 
the  old  pillars  of  the  side  aisles  still  lying,  and  the 
enceinte  of  the  walls  and  of  a  porch ;  so  that  little 
more  than  the  roof  is  needed  in  the  way  of  restora- 
tion. It  was  strange,  indeed,  to  come  across  these 
silent  witnesses  of  a  great  population,  and  that  a 
Christian  one,  in  this  lonely  wilderness,  where  only 
wild  Ishmaelites  pasture,  and  where  we  were  but  the 
second  party  of  European  visitors  since  the  Crusades. 

Man  has  given  place  to  partridge,  of  which  the 
numbers  had  not  perceptibly  diminished  by  the  end 
of  a  week,  though  they  had  supplied  our  large  party 
with  two  plentiful  meals  daily.  This  fine  bird  {Gac- 
cahis  saxatilis)  would  never  be  found  on  these  plains 
but  for  the  ruins.     Strictly  a  rock  bird,  and  found  all 


160  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

over  the  steep  hill-sides  and  cliffs  of  Syria  everywhere 
— on  the  plains,  wet  or  dry,  it  is  never  found.  We 
never  put  it  up  on  these  rolling  downs,  though  food 
abounds ;  but  there  is  not  a  ruined  heap  in  the  coun- 
try where  they  are  not  plentiful,  and  almost  packed. 
In  the  ruins  also,  besides  the  wild-cat,  Trotter  trap- 
ped the  root-eating  mole,  or  Spalax,  and  a  pair  of  a 
beautifully-marked  Gerbille,  with  a  fine,  squirrel-like 
tail  {?  Melio  melanunis),  which  we  had  not  previously 
met  with.  The  jackal  and  the  fox  were,  both  of  them, 
at  home  here,  in  labyrinths  which  must  be  to  them  a 
perfect  paradise. 

Outside  the  walls  all  is  grass-grown ;  but  the  sub- 
urbs have  been  extensive,  and  may  be  traced  for  some 
distance.  We  could  not  identify  any  temples,  but 
soon  found  that  our  own  camp  was  evidently  under 
the  lee  of  an  old  amphitheatre,  now  entirely  covered 
with  turf,  and  probably  only  an  earthen  erection  at 
first.  Close  by  were  the  mounds  of  the  circus,  within 
which  was  our  camp. 

By  far  the  most  interesting  ruin  of  Um  Rasas,  and, 
indeed,  second  to  few  in  the  country,  was  "  the  Tower 
of  the  Christian  Lady,"  the  landmark  we  had  seen 
from  afar.  It  stands  about  one  mile  and  a  quarter 
north  of  Um  Rasas,  beyond  a  number  of  old  cisterns. 
Its  purpose  seems  marked,  not  only  by  the  Christian 
symbols  sculptured  in  many  places  upon  its  face  and 
the  niches,  but  by  the  ruins  of  a  church  close  by,  of 
which  the  apse  remains.  The  traditions  that  cling  to 
it  would  point  to  its  being  a  mortuary  tower.     Though 


NO.   13. 


CHRISTIAN   TOWER,  UM   RASAS. 


LEGEND   OF  THE   TOWER.  161 

square,  its  position  reminded  me  very  much  of  that 
of  the  round  towers  of  Ireland,  close  to  the  churches. 
The  inside  of  the  tower  is  completely  choked  up  with 
fallen  masonry,  as  though  there  had  been  a  staircase 
and  other  work  inside,  which  has  been  shattered  down 
by  an  earthquake,  of  which  there  are  also  traces  in 
the  crack  outside.  There  is  some  very  neat  sculpture 
and  ornament  about  the  eaves  of  the  tower,  and  on  a 
plinth  lower  down. 

There  are  various  legends  connected  with  this  tow- 
er, one  of  which  has  been  related  by  Mr.  Palmer; 
but  as  it  was  told  us  pretty  much  to  the  same  effect 
by  Zadam,  I  may  venture  to  repeat  it.  It  is,  that  the 
Christian  sheik  of  the  neighborhood  had  been  warned 
that  his  son  would  be  devoured  by  a  wild  beast  on 
the  night  of  his  marriage.  Accordingly,  when  he 
was  betrothed  to  the  fairest  maiden  of  the  country, 
the  father  built  this  tower  for  his  son's  security,  and 
to  it  he  and  his  bride  retired  for  the  wedding-nis-ht. 
In  the  morning  the  son  had  been  devoured,  and  the 
bride,  who,  being  in  reality  a  ghoul,  had  assumed  the 
form  of  a  wild  beast,  flew  away  from  the  top  of  the 
tower. 

Another  legend  is  tq  the  effect  that,  before  the 
Christians  were  driven  out  by  the  faithful,  they  de- 
posited enormous  treasures  in  the  top  of  this  tower, 
and  left  it  in  the  care  of  a  Jinn.  This  Jinn  has  pre- 
vented its  being  overthrown  by  earthquakes,  while 
all  around  has  fallen,  and  has  filled  up  the  staircase, 
so  that  none  can  ascend.     Our  party,  however,  were 


162  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

openly  accused  of  having  dealings  with  the  Evil  One ; 
and  many  of  the  Arabs  declared  that  when  Buxton 
and  Johnson  went  to  photograph  the  tower  they  were 
seen  looking  over  the  battlement,  and  had  been  lifted 
up  there  by  the  sprite.  The  tale  spread,  and  Zadam 
himself,  intelligent  though  he  be,  firmly  believed  it, 
remarking  that  the  Jinn  might  guard  and  prevent  the 
Bedouin  from  touching  the  treasure,  yet  that  West- 
erners, having  greater  minds,  might  overcome  the 
guardian  spirit  of  the  place,  and  get  it  out. 

News  travels  fast  in  the  desert.  Late  in  the  even- 
ing a  spearman  reined  up  at  our  door,  to  tell  his 
sheik  that  he  had  heard  that  the  Turkish  troops  had 
started  from  Es  Salt  for  Kerak,  and  were  only  about 
three  hours  off;  that  they  had  orders  to  take  out  the 
Europeans;  that  they  were  to  find  Zadam,  and  hand 
them  over  to  his  keeping.  So  official  action  had  been 
prompt  on  this  occasion. 

The  calm  security  and  delicious  sensation  of  free- 
dom was  very  grateful  to  the  new-found  brothers  of 
Beni  Sakk'r.  They  were  evidently  much  exercised 
in  mind  by  the  ways  and  manners  of  their  new  rel- 
atives, who  began  the  day  by  improvising  a  bath, 
spreading  a  mackintosh  sheet  in  a  hole  in  front  of 
the  tents,  and  sponging  alfresco,  while  the  hoar-frost 
yet  covered  the  ground.  It  loas  cold ;  the  thermom- 
eter was  down  to  27°  in  the  night.  All  the  morning 
the  Arabs  sat  on  the  grassy  slope  of  the  old  amphi- 
theatre, but  at  a  respectful  distance  from  our  camp. 
The  photographers  had  enough  to  do  at  home  all 


ANCIENT   RUINS.  163 

day.  Arrears  of  journal  and  cat-skinning  occupied 
us  till  the  afternoon,  when  Hayne  and  I  had  a  splen- 
did gallop  across  the  downs  for  five  or  six  miles  due 
east,  to  a  ruined  castle  we  had  sighted,  named  by  the 
Arabs  M'Seitbeh. 

The  characteristics  of  these  great  rolling  plains  im- 
press themselves  upon  one  as  we  ride  over  them  day 
after  day — grass  in  the  hollows,  and  a  low  gray-green 
scrub  on  the  slopes,  chiefly  a  wormwood  {Ariemisium\ 
strongly  scented  when  crushed.  Stones  and  ruined 
foundations  of  walls  are  scattered  in  the  lower  valleys 
— sometimes  the  terraces,  too,  remaining ;  but  no  more 
of  the  vineyards  that  once  abounded.  Cisterns  are 
hewn  in  the  rocks.  Channels,  dams,  and  sluices  once 
were  there,  but  are  not  more  than  faintly  outlined 
now.  Innumerable  white  snails  with  the  thickest  of 
shells,  and  red  caterpillars  like  those  of  the  Emper- 
or-moth, with  myriads  of  larks — the  skylark,  crested 
lark,  short -toed,  calandra,  and  others  —  in  combined 
flocks  fattening  themselves  upon  them.  Here  and 
there  a  flock  of  rock-doves  fluttering  from  a  cistern ; 
a  covey  of  partridge  from  a  ruin  ;  a  pair  of  Egyptian 
vultures  battening  on  the  offal  from  a  recent  camp ; 
flocks,  herds,  and  camels,  a  few  horses  and  asses,  with 
attendant  shepherds  and  shepherdesses ;  and  a  little 
cluster  of  black  tents  in  some  dell,  with  a  dog  or  two 
prowling  and  hoarsely  barking  at  passers-by,  while 
a  few  children  squat  about  the  doors — these  are  the 
only  living  features.  "Behold,  the  days  come,  saith 
the  Lord,  that  I  will  send  unto  him  wanderers,  that 


164  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

shall  cause  him  to  wander,  and  shall  empty  his  ves- 
sels, and  break  their  bottles."  "Joy  and  gladness  is 
taken  from  the  plentiful  field,  and  from  the  land  of 
Moab ;  and  I  have  caused  wine  to  fail  from  the  wine- 
presses :  none  shall  tread  with  shouting  "  (Jer.  xlviii., 
12,  83).  As  for  the  ruins  themselves,  their  only  in- 
habitants are  the  wild-cat,  the  jackal,  the  fox,  the  mole, 
and  such  like,  to  be  trapped,  but  not  seen. 

The  kirbet,  or  castle,  of  M'Seitbeh  itself  is  a  keep 
raised  on  a  solid  platform  of  masonry,  about  twenty- 
two  yards  square,  on  the  top  of  a  low  hillock  ;  it  form- 
ed a  block-house  in  the  centre  of  an  open  square,  sur- 
rounded by  a  wall,  and  reached  by  steps  which  yet 
remain.  Of  the  outer  walls  only  the  old  foundations 
are  left.  Below  there  is  a  large  open  cistern,  meas- 
uring thirty  yards  by  fourteen  outside,  and  similar  to 
that  at  our  camp  at  Um  Easas,  with  plenty  of  water 
in  the  bottom,  thirty  feet  below  the  surface.  There 
have  been  many  inclosures  in  the  neighborhood,  and 
the  old  vineyards  have  extended  far  even  beyond  this. 
JS'ot  a  bit  of  desert  or  barren  land  was  visible  in  this 
grand  panorama;  and  the  camels,  sheep,  and  goats 
marked  the  whole  sweep  of  the  glass  with  black 
patches. 

Evening  was  coming  on  as  we  galloped  back  over 
the  grassy  plain,  enjojnng  intensely  the  sense  of  secu- 
rity and  peace ;  countless  herds  of  goats,  sheep,  and 
camels  betokened  the  wealth  of  the  Beni  Sakk'r ;  and 
little  curls  of  blue  smoke  rising  here  and  there  re- 
vealed where,  unsuspected,  behind  many  a  knoll,  and 


LETTER   FKOM    MR,  SELAMI.  165 

in  many  a  dell  or  gentle  slope,  the  women  of  the  tents 
of  Kedar  were  preparing  the  coffee,  or  the  evening 
meal* 

February  18. — We  had  calculated  on  a  quiet  Sun- 
day, undisturbed  by  either  business,  alarms,  or  in- 
trigues ;  and  when  we  turned  out  at  sunrise,  had  no 
idea  of  the  ride  before  us.  Before  7  A.M.  a  tall  negro 
appeared  with  a  letter,  and  orders  to  wait  for  an  an- 
swer. The  letter  was  addressed  to  me  at  Kerak,  or 
elsewhere,  by  Mr.  Selami,  of  the  English  consulate, 
dated  from  Salt  two  days  previously,  and  with  the 
startling  news  that  he  was  there  with  the  Pasha  of 
Nablous,  who  had  been  sent  by  order  of  the  Pasha  of 
Damascus,  and  that  the  troops,  horse  and  foot,  with 

*  Among  other  expeditions  made  from  Um  Rasas  was  one  to  the 
Wady  Butm,  or  "Terebintli  Valley,"  in  a  direction  W.N.W.,  first  go- 
ing two  miles  south  to  visit  the  conspicuous  castle  of  Kirbet  Jemail, 
from  which  bearings  were  taken.  Its  remains  are  a  few  arches  of  the 
same  date  as  those  of  Um  Rasas,  and  one  well-marked  cave,  or  "mat- 
amoros,"  still  used  for  storing  grain,  supported  by  a  pillar  in  the  cen- 
tre. The  old  roads  leading  up  to  it  are  more  clearly  marked  than  at 
Um  Rasas.  The  neighboring  slopes  have  been  covered  with  vineyards, 
and  water  rested  in  an  open  rock-pool.  Hence  north-west  to  Sfiiyet 
Khazal— I.  e.,  the  Rock  of  the  Gazelle  (the  Ghazaleh  of  Palmer) — 
where  the  Wady  Butm  was  first  struck.  There  was  water  in  pools,  but 
not  running,  in  the  wady.  The  ruined  fort  stands  on  a  mound  nearly 
isolated  by  the  winding  of  the  valley.  Next,  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
west  of  Sfayet  Khazal,  is  Kirbet  el  Butm,  on  a  steep  hill-side,  almost 
a  cliff,  in  the  same  wady.  Kasr  Zafaran,  which  we  afterward  visited, 
was  well  seen  from  hence.  Next  was  Kirbet  Rujum,  on  a  tributary 
valley  bearing  the  same  name.  All  were  on  the  left,  or  southern,  side 
of  the  water-courses,  whicli,  running  westward,  finally  drain  into  the 
Arnon. 


166  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

two  brass  guns,  were  to  march  next  morning  for  Ke- 
rak,  to  set  us  free,  Mr.  Selami  added  that  he  had 
brought  £600  in  cash  for  ransom,  and  was  deter- 
mined no  force  should  be  used  till  he  had  got  us  safe- 
ly out,  when  the  Turks  might  do  what  they  pleased. 
I  shortly  replied,  telling  him  of  our  peaceable  de- 
parture, and  our  camp  in  the  wide  Belka,  under  the 
spear  of  Zadara.  Strange  how  news  travels  in  the 
wilderness,  but  the  messenger  had  heard  of  our  where- 
abouts on  his  road,  and  had  struck  twenty  miles  east 
at  once.  As  soon  as  he  had  had  food  we  dispatched 
him  with  our  reply. 

The  messenger  had  scarcely  gone  when  we  felt  that 
the  efforts  made  for  us  required  an  immediate  and 
prompt  acknowledgment;  and  that  though  it  was 
Sunday,  and  the  ride  might  be  very  long,  yet  court- 
esy demanded  that  we  should  at  once  in  person  wait 
on  the  pasha  and  apprise  him  of  our  position,  lest  the 
troops  should  have  a  needless  and  costly  march  on 
our  account.  After  breakfast  the  maps  were  studied, 
and  we  calculated  that,  having  left  Salt  on  Saturday, 
the  soldiers  ought  not  to  be  very  far  from  Heshban  on 
Sunday  night.  We  now  felt  the  want  of  our  coun- 
selor Zadam,  who  had  gone  to  keep  Beiram.  It  was 
decided  that  Trotter  and  I  should  go,  with  Daoud  as 
interpreter,  to  find  the  troops,  our  horses  being  the 
best  and  freshest. 

We  took  also  with  us  a  Beni  Sakk'r  horseman, 
Sherouan,  a  ragged  dervish,  and,  with  strange  incon- 
sistency, a  great  warrior  also,  who  boasts  of  having 


VISIT  TO  zadam's  tent.  167 

slain  thirty  men  in  fight  with  his  own  hands — an  ec- 
clesiastical warrior  worthy  of  the  Crusades.  He  is, 
withal,  a  meek,  quiet-looking  man,  who  never  talks, 
and  never  pushes  into  the  tents.  But,  more  to  the 
purpose,  he  is  the  best  local  topographer,  and  sure  of 
bis  own  knowledge  of  all  the  plain  country. 

We  had  to  prepare  for  being  out  three  days,  and 
for  sleeping  in  the  open.  All  being  nearly  ready,  we 
let  down  the  tent  door,  had  a  short  morning  service, 
and  at  10.30  were  in  the  saddle.  Young  Sahan  insist- 
ed on  joining  us,  as  we  should  pass  close  by  his  broth- 
er's camp.  We  took  a  course  KKE.,  and  crossed  the 
Wady  Themed  and  the  Wady  Shobek  exactly  at  their 
junction.  A  little  way  down  the  Wady  Themed  was 
a  ruined  castle  called  M'Deineh.  One  roUing  down 
after  another,  and  we  descended  into  the  Wady  el 
Jiddreh,  the  banks  of  which  were  fringed  with  the 
most  luxuriant  soft  herbage,  water  in  all  the  pools 
of  its  bed,  and  old  gnarled  terebinths  in  thick  succes- 
sion, fringing  it  everywhere,  sheltered  under  the  up- 
per banks.  We  now  found  ourselves  among  bolder 
scenery  than  we  had  expected  on  the  plateau  of  Moab 
— cliffs  of  some  height,  with  many  open  caves  in  them, 
and  several  nests  both  of  the  griffon  vulture  and  the 
lanner  falcon — and  soon  reached  Zadam's  tents,  in  the 
Griffon,  or  N'ssour,  valley. 

The  camp  was  a  modest  one,  as  the  bulk  of  the 
tribe  are  now  far  east;  but  a  party  of  elders  were 
gathered  with  their  young  seigneur.  Nothing  could 
exceed  the  dignity  and  stateliness  of  the  young  sheik 


168  THE   LAND   OF  MOAB. 

in  his  own  tent — "an  awful  don"  T.  pronounced  him. 
He  came  to  meet  us,  even  held  the  stirrup  as  I  dis- 
mounted, and  conducted  us  to  his  open  tent,  where 
already  carpets  and  cushions  had  been  spread  for  us ; 
and  such  carpets !  —  the  richest  Persian,  quite  new, 
into  which  we  sunk  as  we  sat  down.  We  explained 
shortly  our  errand,  and  that  we  could  not  stay  for 
dinner.  He  assented  reluctantly ;  but  young  Sahan 
rushing  out,  soon  returned  with  a  large  bowl  of  cold 
sheep's-head  and  rice,  which  we  ate  while  coffee  was 
preparing. 

Coffee  over,  we  started  again.  On  and  on  we  rode, 
with  the  range  of  Nebbeh  and  Heshban  in  front  of 
us,  up  and  down  the  gentle  acclivities,  and  always  on 
rich,  though  neglected,  soil.  Everywhere  the  traces 
of  past  cultivation,  sometimes  patches  of  present. 
The  ground  is  just  beginning  to  be  carpeted  with  its 
spring  dress.  In  the  slightest  depression  there  is  the 
richest  velvet  green  ;  and  the  most  stony  slopes  have 
bulbs,  cyclamen,  and  iris  bursting  forth,  and  young 
grass,  which  promises  to  be  meadow  in  a  fortnight, 
giving  them  a  delicate  hue.  On  ascending  a  brow 
anywhere,  countless  flocks  and  herds  dotted  the  land- 
scape ;  and  camels  in  scattered  order,  browsing,  and 
hfting  their  tall  necks,  fringed  the  horizon.  Yet  not 
a  tent  could  be  seen,  save  when,  on  a  sudden,  we  hap- 
pened to  descend  on  a  camp  hidden  in  some  slop- 
ing wady,  where  herbage  and  water  were  near.  The 
shepherds  are  just  now  more  scattered  than  at  any 
other  time  of  the  year,  water  is  plentiful,  and  the  ewes 


AJERMEH   CAMP.  169 

and  she-goats,  dropping  their  lambs  and  kids,  require 
close  attention.  Numbers  of  young  camels,  many 
only  a  few  days  old,  were  stalking  with  their  dams ; 
and  we  actually  saw  a  young  camel,  about  three  days 
old,  so  far  foiget  the  dignity  of  its  kind  as  to  skip 
about  and  lead  its  growling  and  chiding  mother  a 
race  as  she  vainly  attempted  to  keep  it  solemnly  by 
her  side.  It  was  the  first  time  I  ever  detected  a 
symptom  of  playfulness  in  a  camel.  Clouds  of  dot- 
terel got  up  every  now  and  then ;  and  once  a  large 
solitary  wolf  rose  within  shot,  and  walked  quietly 
away,  seeing,  no  doubt,  that  we  had  no  guns.  We 
put  up  vast  packs  of  sand-grouse,  which  rose  wild  and 
fast  as  pigeons.  Wherever  we  rode,  we  could  see 
shepherds  hurriedly  stalking  forth  ahead,  so  as  to  in- 
tersect our  path,  and,  if  possible,  stop  us  and  ask  the 
news. 

Guided  by  reports  gathered  here  and  there,  we 
turned  north  to  find  the  camp  of  the  Ajermeh  Arabs. 
Old  Sherouan,  our  guide,  got  into  spirits  now,  and 
several  short  gallops  took  us  across  a  grassy  plain, 
toward  the  shoulder  of  a  hill,  where  we  could  see 
flocks  and  herds  rapidly  converging  as  the  sun  was 
setting.  Night  had  fallen  on  us  ere  we  reached  the 
camp,  a  very  large  one ;  and  by  the  sheik's  tent, 
marked  by  the  spear  with  its  tuft  of  ostrich  feathers, 
we  drew  up,  and  inquired  for  the  soldiers.  Several 
irregular  horsemen  came  out,  and  we  found  our  day 
was  not  yet  at  an  end  ;  their  camp  was  in  the  Wady 
Na'ur,  three  hours  north  of  us,  and  these  had  only 

12 


170  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

been  sent  in  advance  to  collect  provisions  and  camels 
for  transport.  Our  Beni  Sakk'r  declared  he  could  go 
no  farther,  for  his  horse  was  done  up  ;  and  the  Turk- 
ish officer  obligingly  lent  us  a  wild  mounted  spear- 
man, a  Kurd,  who  could  speak  a  very  little  Arabic,  to 
guide  us  to  head-quarters.  The  moon  was  kindly  in 
the  zenith,  and  without  dismounting  we  passed  on. 

The  compass  showed  N.N.W.,  and  the  pole-star 
kept  steadily  just  to  the  right  of  the  horses'  heads; 
so  we  felt  we  could  not  be  far  out.  From  the  plain 
we  soon  rose  among  bare,  rocky,  Judean-looking  hills, 
and  wearily  plodded  our  way,  three  miles  an  hour, 
till  our  guide  exclaimed,  "Ah !  there  are  the  cypress- 
trees;  we  are  not  far!"  We  soon  wound  down  a 
rather  steep  descent,  and  on  a  sward  sipping  down 
to  a  little  stream  there  gleamed  in  the  moonlight  the 
long-sought  camp.  We  felt  ourselves  really  the  he- 
roes of  an  Abyssinian  expedition  on  a  small  scale,  as 
we  heard  the  cavalry  bugles,  and  responded  to  the 
sentry's  challenge.  There  were  thirty  -  three  large 
white  tents,  and  a  number  of  black  Arab  ones,  stretch- 
ed in  regular  order  below  us ;  while  many  a  watch- 
iire  cast  a  gleam  of  lurid  light  on  the  lines  of  picket- 
ed horses. 

We  asked  for  the  pasha,  and  were  conducted  past 
a  couple  of  brass  howitzers  to  one  of  two  tents  over- 
looking the  camp.  A  very  stout,  elderly  Turkish 
gentleman  sat  on  a  pile  of  cushions  at  the  farther  end 
of  the  tent,  with  his  tray  of  dinner  on  the  ground  be- 
fore him.     He  politely  handed  a  cigarette  from  a  sil- 


THE   pasha's   reception.  171 

ver  case,  and,  through  Daoud,  who  stood  deferentially 
at  the  tent  door,  while  we  sat  on  the  cushion  by  his 
side,  congratulated  us  on  being  out  of  our  difficulties. 
We  insisted  upon  retiring  till  his  excellency  had 
supped,  and  were  ushered  into  the  other  tent,  which 
belonged  to  his  staff— two  colonels  and  two  other 
officers. 

In  a  few  minutes  an  orderly  brought  in  a  dinner- 
tray  ;  and  we,  who  had  been  fasting  since  the  forenoon, 
and  had  been  ten  hours  in  the  saddle,  were  not  sorry 
to  see  it.  The  service  was  exactly  the  same  as  the 
pasha's— a  large  dish  of  rice,  some  hot  poached  eggs, 
sardines,  a  well-oiled  salad,  cheese,  and  native  bread. 
Coffee  followed  when  we  had  done  justice  to  the  tray ; 
and  we  were  waiting  our  summons  to  the  pasha,  when 
Mr.  Selami,  of  the  consulate,  arrived.  He  had  heard 
that  we  were  at  Um  Rasas,  had  gone  that  morning  to 
find  us,  and  after  four  hours'  ride  was  turned  back 
by  some  Arab  shepherds,  who  told  him  they  had  seen 
us  riding  in  search  of  the  soldiers.  Our  explanations 
were  brief:  Mr.  Selami's  saddle-bags,  heavy  with  ran- 
som-money, had  just  been  deposited  in  the  tent,  when 
we  were  summoned  to  the  presence  to  make  our  offi- 
cial statement. 

The  secretaries  sat  on  the  ground  with  their  ink- 
horns.  Between  them  and  the  pasha,  on  another  car- 
pet, sat  Mr.  Selami ;  and  on  the  other  side  the  pasha, 
opposite  him,  Trotter,  and  myself,  utterly  tired  out. 
An  orderly  in  the  door-way,  and  the  two  colonels 
smoking  their  nargiles  on  the  pasha's  left,  completed 


172  THE   LAND   OF    MOAB. 

the  group.  A  tedious  process  was  the  taking  of  dep- 
ositions. Name,  country,  route  to  Jerusalem,  dates, 
objects  of  journey,  and  various  other  preliminaries, 
had  to  be  asked  by  the  pasha  in  Turkish,  translated 
by  Selami  into  French,  replied  to  by  me  in  the  same, 
then  retranslated  into  Turkish,  and  in  that  language 
written  down  by  the  scribes.  Then  came  the  historic 
version  of  the  Kerak  difficulties,  from  the  Safieh  to 
the  robbery  of  Mr.  Klein's  letter.  The  tedious  proc- 
ess lasted  till  long  past  midnight,  when  the  nodding 
pair  were  dismissed  with  a  courteous  bow,  and  were 
told  the  depositions  would  be  ready  to  sign  in  the 
morning. 

To  the  other  tent  we  retired,  with  Mr.  Selami  and 
the  secretaries,  to  share  it  with  the  colonels.  The 
tent  sides  were  open  for  six  inches  up,  the  wind  blew 
keen,  the  thermometer  was  below  the  freezing-point, 
and  we  had  no  coverlets.  We  turned  our  saddles  up 
for  pillows,  wrapped  our  heads  in  our  water-proofs ; 
but  before  day-break  the  cold  was  past  endurance. 

At  dawn  we  turned  out,  not  for  washing  or  toilet, 
with  a  thick  rime  on  the  grass,  thankful  that  we  had 
taken  the  precaution  of  bringing  camphor  and  laud- 
anum in  our  pockets,  which  we  mixed  with  the  wel- 
come hot  coffee.  To-day  was  Beiram,  the  New-year's- 
day  of  the  Moslems  ;  and  we  had  just  been  summon- 
ed to  the  pasha's  tent,  when  the  order  was  given  to 
fire  a  salute  from  the  howitzers,  which  was  at  once 
done,  to  the  amazement  of  the  crowd  of  Arabs.  The 
artillery-men  seemed  well  drilled,  and  went  creditably 


COURTESY   SHOWN   TO   US.  173 

through  their  exercise.  Our  depositions  were  now- 
produced  in  fair  copy,  read  over,  translated  to  us,  and 
then  signed  and  sealed  by  me  in  duplicate.  The  pa- 
sha offered  us  two  cavalry  soldiers  for  the  rest  of  our 
sojourn  in  the  country  ;  but  we  modestly  declined, 
feeling  it  for  better  to  show  all  confidence  in  the  Beni 
Sakk'r  than  to  seem  to  distrust  either  Zadam's  power 
or  his  good  foith.  Of  course,  after  our  declining  this 
offer,  the  government  had  no  further  responsibility  ; 
but  we  felt  we  were  on  safe  ground  through  all  the 
Beni  Sakk'r  and  Hamideh  country ;  and  the  result 
proved  that  we  were  right. 

The  pasha  then  dictated  letters  to  Zadam,  thanking 
him  for  his  good  management ;  to  Ibn  Tarif,  of  the 
Hamideh,  commending  us  to  his  good  offices ;  and 
also  an  open  firman  to  all,  to  be  used  when  occasion 
might  require.  Nothing  could  exceed  his  courtesy 
and  consideration.  He  told  us  he  should  have  to 
wait  at  Na'ur  for  several  da3^s,  as  he  had  sent  at  mid- 
night to  Nablous,  to  telegraph  thence  to  Damascus  for 
instructions,  and  must  await  the  reply.  However,  he 
had  countermanded,  provisionally,  the  500  men  who 
were  to  follow  him  from  Nablous.  The  whole  of  this 
advance-guard  consisted  of  170  infantry,  120  cavalry, 
two  field-pieces,  and  150  mounted  irregulars. 

We  were  asked  many  questions  about  Kerak, 
where  the  staff,  at  least,  evidently  wished  to  go;  but 
they  told  us  they  possessed  no  plans  of  the  place,  and 
knew  nothing  of  it.  We  explained  the  approaches 
as  best  we  could.     Whether  the  troops  should  be  sent 


174  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

on  to  Kerak,  was  no  affair  of  ours ;  but  certainly  it 
was  an  excellent  opportunityof  teaching  a  lesson  to 
a  quasi-independent  chief  who  has  been  the  oppressor 
of  the  country  for  years,  under  the  pretext  of  holding 
it  for  the  sultan,  and  who  wrings  out  of  the  hapless 
people  a  sum  tenfold  that  which  he  pays  into  the  im- 
perial treasury. 

Es  Salt  shows  what  may  be  done  by  securing  a 
settled  government,  even  though  it  be  a  Turkish  one. 
When  I  visited  Es  Salt  eight  years  ago,  it  was  much 
in  the  same  state  as  Kerak  is  now,  and  life  and 
property  were  insecure  in  the  whole  of  Gilead.  The 
difficulties  to  travelers  were  as  great  as  in  Southern 
Moab,  and  extravagant  black -mail  was  levied  by  all 
the  petty  sheiks.  Now  that  the  Pasha  of  Damascus 
has  placed  a  garrison  there,  the  fellahin  are  better  off, 
trade  has  quadrupled,  and  the  country  is  as  safe  for 
Europeans  as  Western  Palestine.  With  a  garrison  at 
Kerak,*  and  the  Beni  Sakk'r  conciliated,  as  at  pres- 
ent, the  imperial  government  could  hold  the  coast  of 
the  Dead  Sea  as  easily  as  it  holds  the  Lebanon. 

*  While  these  sheets  are  in  the  press  (March,  1873),  we  learn  tha'. 
the  Turks  have  thrown  a  garrison  into  Kerak. 


AJERMEH  CAMP  REACHED.         176 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Return  from  the  Wady  Na'ur  to  Um  Rasas. — Royal  Entertainment  by 
the  Ajermeh. — Our  Horses  keep  Beiram. — Cotiee-drinking. — She- 
rouan's  many  Calls. — Wandering  Tramps. — A  Beggar's  Hospital- 
ity.— Return  to  our  Tents. — Reports  of  a  buried  Stone. — Zadam's 
Account  of  the  black,  or  basalt,  Country  eastward. — El  Ilhurreh. — 
Stone  Cities. —  Eastward  ho! — Mirage  on  the  Plains. —  Gazelle 
Hunt. — The  Hadj  Road. — Khan  Zebib. — Description  of  the  ruined 
Khan. — Traces  of  earlier  Buildings. — Remains  of  a  Doric  Temple. 
— Labyrinth  of  Cisterns. —  Prehistoric  Remains. —  Cairns. — A  vain 
Pursuit  after  the  Stone  of  Rasas. 

We  left  the  Turkish  camp  without  a  guide,  and  in 
two  hours  passed  some  extensive  ruins  on  a  low  hill 
called  by  the  shepherds  Samak.  From  it  an  old  Ro- 
man road  was  distinctly  marked,  leading  down  the  hill 
and  across  the  next  wide  upland. 

In  three  hours  and  five  minutes  we  reached  the 
Ajermeh  camp.  The  soldiers  were  all  gone.  We 
had  met  some  men  driving  lambs  across  the  plain  for 
the  troops,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  learning  'from 
them,  what  Daoud  was  loath  to  believe,  but  what  the 
Ajermeh  afterward  confirmed,  that  the  soldiers  paid 
for  all  they  took,  or  at  least  gave  receipts,  to  be  al- 
lowed from  the  next  payment  of  tribute.  We  dis- 
mounted at  the  camp,  the  largest  we  had  yet  seen, 
and  where  two  tents  were  marked,  by  the  spear  and 
tuft  of  o.strich  feathers,  as  the  homes  of  the  sheiks. 


176  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

We  at  once  asked  to  buy  barley  for  our  horses,  but 
were  told  they  had  none,  and  must  send  miles  for  it. 
Barley,  we  replied,  we  must  have,  if  we  waited  three 
hours  for  it ;  and  suiting  the  action  to  the  word,  we 
dismounted.  They  then  invited  us  into  the  great 
tents,  for  they  too  were  keeping  Beiram,  the  New- 
years  festival  of  the  Moslems.  The  tent  was  full,  but 
a  clean  carpet  was  spread  for  us  at  the  upper  end. 
Daoud  now  produced  the  three  nose-bags  from  under 
his  'abb'eyeh,  and,  with  a  knowing  look,  handed  them 
to  a  by-stander,  as  much  as  to  say,  "No  humbug;  the 
horses  must  keep  Beiram  too."  The  man  took  them, 
and  soon  returned  with  barley  enough  for  two  days. 

Meantime  guests  came  crowding  in,  for  the  day  is 
spent  in  visiting  neighboring  camps  and  eating  the 
substitute  for  yule  cake.  Every  one  who  came  in, 
except  ourselves,  was  kissed  from  four  to  seven  times 
on  the  cheeks  by  each  of  the  circle,  who  rose  to  greet 
him.  A  huge  wooden  bowl  was  brought,  with  hot 
boiled  mutton,  swimming  in  the  Belka  substitute  for 
Algerian  couscousou  —  a  sort  of  coarsely  -  ground 
wheat-meal,  boiled  with  milk  and  butter.  We  were 
quite  ready  for  breakfast,  and  plied  our  fingers  very 
well,  the  Arabs  being  actually  civilized  enough  to 
apologize  for  having  no  spoons  or  forks  for  the 
Franghi.  We  caused  great  interest,  and  no  alarm,  to 
a  number  of  toddling  youngsters  of  two  years  old  and 
upward,  who  examined  our  clothes  with  much  curi- 
osity, and  were  won  by  a  supply  of  raisins,  with 
which  Mr.  Selami  had  filled  our  pockets  at  starting. 


COFFEE-DRINKING.  177 

As  soon  as  we  had  finished,  the  bowl  was  passed  on 
to  other  guests,  and  quickly  cleared,  when  another 
and  another  made  its  appearance. 

Meantime  Daoud,  the  hero  of  the  hour,  recounted 
the  Kerak  affair  to  the  eager  listeners,  who  thought 
we  had  got  cheaply  off  from  such  a  set  for  sixty  gold- 
pieces.  My  revolver  was  handed  round,  and,  by  their 
careful  handling,  they  showed  that  they  were  no  stran- 
gers to  the  weapon.  As  an  instance  of  the  way  news 
travels,  we  were  informed  that  our  muleteers,  who  had 
started  for  Salt  two  days  ago  to  buy  barley,  had  long 
since  gone  back  to  our  camp,  as  they  had  bought  a 
supply  at  such  and  such  a  price,  from  the  S'khoor 
Arabs,  on  the  way. 

The  coffee  was  an  elaborate  affair,  and  it  was  the 
best  coffee  I  ever  tasted.  The  beans  were  produced 
in  the  husk,  beaten  out,  then  winnowed  with  the  hand, 
roasted  and  pounded  before  the  fire  at  which  we  were 
warming  our  toes,  and,  for  the  first  time  for  eighteen 
hours,  were  enjoying  sensation.  This  coffee  is  brought 
overland  from  Mocha,  and  is  perfumed  and  fragrant. 
No  less  than  three  cups  were  supplied  to  each ;  and 
we  needed  no  pressing. 

As  our  horses  had  now  fed,  we  left,  grateful  for  the 
hospitality  so  cordially  afforded  by  those  who  would 
certainly  have  robbed  us,  had  we  not  been  under  the 
Beni  Sakk'r  shield.  These  Ajermeh  are  a  wealthy 
tribe,  and  more  given  to  agriculture  than  most  of 
the  nomads.  The  long  tracts  of  corn  we  had  pass- 
ed through,  and  also  the  wide  extent  of  arable  land 


178  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

Stretching  from  hence  to  Heshban,  is  chiefly  culti- 
vated by  them  and  their  shives ;  and  they  sell  much 
to  the  Southern  'Anizeh,  with  whom  they  have  friend- 
ly relations. 

We  pursued  a  south-east  direction  for  the  first 
hour,  across  plains  all  under  tillage  for  wheat  and 
barley,  and  at  2.30  P.M.,  after  an  hour  and  thirty-five 
minutes,  passed  not  far  south  of  the  extensive  ruins 
of  Ziza.  How  our  guide,  old  Sberouan,  whom  we 
had  picked  up  again  at  the  Ajermeh  camp,  led  us 
across  a  featureless  country  for  twenty-six  miles,  up 
and  down  sloping  dells,  we  could  scarcely  make  out. 
Still,  by  compass,  he  was  always  true,  though  the 
day  was  cloudy,  with  a  bitterly  cold  wind.  To  every 
black  tent  espied  from  afar  our  guide  made  a  detour; 
and  he  and  Daoud,  while  we  jogged  on,  levied  toll 
everywhere — kid,  camel's  flesh,  or  a  bowl  of  milk — 
for  every  caller  must  be  fed  to-day.  From  all  quar- 
ters the  shepherds  came  striding  in  advance,  to  inter- 
cept us  and  ask  the  news. 

On  one  piece  of  bleak  plain,  we  came  upon  the 
most  tattered  fragment  of  a  tent  I  ever  saw.  It  con- 
cealed nothing,  and  revealed  the  most  abject  poverty, 
even  for  Bedouin,  Yet  even  here  was  a  large  heap 
of  brush-wood  collected,  and  the  skin  of  a  freshly- 
killed  camel  stretched  on  the  ground,  while  the  flesh 
was  being  boiled  on  the  embers.  Our  dervish  rode  up, 
and  had  his  chat  and  lump  of  boiled  meat.  The  peo- 
ple were  not  Beni  Sakk'r,  but  a  small  family  of  wan- 
dering beggars — man,  wife,  and  three  children — and 


KEEPING  BEIRAM.  179 

had  no  sheep  nor  goats  —  only  half  a  dozen  camels. 
Yet  one  of  these  six  had  they  killed  for  Beiram, 
and  every  shepherd  within  hail  must  partake  of  their 
hospitality  for  two  days.  I  learned  for  the  first  time 
that  even  among  the  Bedouin  there  is,  besides  the 
gypsies,  whom  we  several  times  met  pursuing  the 
same  arts  of  tinkering,  fortune-telling,  and  conjuring, 
as  in  England,  a  class  of  begging  tramps,  belonging 
to  no  tribe,  but  wandering  where  they  will,  too  poor 
to  be  robbed,  and  living  on  the  alms  of  the  shepherd 
tribes. 

At  length,  just  at  sunset,  we  reached  the  Wady 
Themed,  and  knew  we  were  not  far  from  camp.  For 
the  first  time  to-day  we  had  a  gallop,  and  soon  espied 
by  moonlight  the  tall  tower  of  Um  Easas,  a  mile  and 
a  quarter  from  our  tents,  which  we  reached  at  6.30 
P.M.  Beiram  was  being  kept  in  due  style  at  Um 
Rasas,  to  the  expenditure  of  our  powder;  and  one  of 
our  muleteers  had  a  narrow  escape,  from  the  bursting 
of  his  great  horse-pistol,  the  blame  of  which  was,  of 
course,  laid  on  the  English  powder. 

Zadam  had  just  returned,  bringing  with  him  the 
skin  of  a  very  fine  cheetah,  or  hunting-leopard,  which 
one  of  his  brothers  had  shot,  as  a  present  for  me. 
Supposing  I  would  use  it  as  a  saddle-cloth,  he  had, 
unfortunately,  cut  off  the  head  and  part  of  the  tail. 
It  was  the  only  beast  of  the  kind  we  heard  of  being 
killed  while  in  the  country;  but  we  several  times 
came  across  traces  of  the  leopard  in  the  ravines  low- 
er down.     The  cheetah,  on  the  contrary,  seems  to  be 


180  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

confined  to  the  open  country,  where  it  prej's  on  the 
gazelle. 

In  the  morning  a  mounted  Arab,  with  a  long  spear, 
a  very  fine-looking  fellow,  rode  hotly  down  to  camp, 
and,  dismounting,  strode  to  our  tent  door,  just  within 
which  Zadam  was  seated.  With  fierce  gesticulations, 
he  asked  what  business  we  had  here,  told  us  that  his 
tribe  were  the  rightful  owners,  and  that  his  gunners 
would  come  down  at  night  and  shoot  us  all.  Zadam 
never  moved  a  muscle,  but  quietly  eyed  him ;  and 
when  he  had  spent  his  breath,  told  him  to  go  to  his 
tent.  He  then  explained  to  us  that  the  man  was  the 
sheik  of  a  small  subject  tribe,  whose  domicile  was  in 
this  district,  and  probably  wanted  a  little  backsheesh, 
which  we  were  by  no  means  to  give,  as  it  was  not 
our  business.  They  had  a  long  conference  in  the  lit- 
tle tent,  and  the  man  rode  off. 

It  seemed  that  our  visitor  had  heard  of  our  search- 
ing the  ruins,  though  nothing  had  been  said  by  us, 
and  Zadam  had  kept  our  counsels;  and  that  his  ob- 
ject was  to  get  a  backsheesh  for  a  "black  written 
stone"  which  one  of  his  men  had  found  here  and 
buried  in  the  ground.  I  saw  afterward,  in  Jerusalem, 
a  squeeze  said  to  have  been  taken  from  this  stone, 
and  which  is  in  the  possession  of  the  Eev.  D.  Stuart 
Dodge,  of  Beirut,  who  has  kindly  forwarded  to  me 
a  copy.  Whether  it  be  genuine  or  not  I  have  no 
means  of  judging.  I  can  only  aver  that  the  evidence 
is  in  favor  of  there  having  been  a  black  written  stone 
at  Um  Rasas.     The  link  that  can  indisputably  prove 


CONJECTURES  ON   UM   RASAS.  181 

that  the  squeeze  is  a  copy  of  the  Urn  Kasas  stone 
is  the  difficulty.  Dr.  Birch,  of  the  British  Museum, 
than  whom  there  can  not  be  a  better  authority,  as- 
sured me  that  he  has  utterly  failed  to  make  any  sense 
of  the  inscription,  and  that  some  of  the  characters  are 
not  such  as  he  should  have  expected  to  find  in  a 
monument  of  so  early  a  character. 

No  inscription  has  yet  been  found  which  reveals 
to  us  the  ancient  name  of  Um  Kasas.     The  modern 
Arabic   name   gives  no  clue,  meaning  simply   "the 
mother  of  lead,"  and  is  explained  by  the  local  tradi- 
tion that  lead  (probably  leaden  pipes)  had  been  found 
in  dio-o-ing  here.     But  its  remains  prove  that  it  must 
have  been  an  important  town  in  the  Koman  province 
of  Arabia.     The  Peutinger  Tables  throw  no  light  on 
this  subject,  as  they  give  nothing  between  Philadel- 
phia—z.  e.,  Rabbath  Ammon— and  Rabba,  or  Areopo- 
lis_- sixty-two  miles.     Nor  can  I  trace  any  clue  in 
the  Itinerary  of  Antonine.     But  in  the  lists  of  the 
stations  of  the  Roman  army  given  in  the  "Notitia," 
we  find,  among  many  other  names  belonging  to  this 
immediate  district,  such  as   Ziza,  Areopolis,  Bostra, 
Castra  Arnonensia,  the  sentence,  "Ala  prima  Valen- 
tiana  Thamathcey     We  have  no  other  record  or  trace 
of  the  name.     But  may  it  not  linger  still  in  the  Wady 
Themed  close  by?     Themed  and  Thamatha  would 
certainly    be    Latin    and    Arabic    equivalents;    and 
though  not  on  the  Wady  Themed,  Um  Rasas  is  cer- 
tainly nearer  to  it  than  any  other  ruins  of  importance 
which  we  visited.     Professor  Palmer  has  suggested 


,  182  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

to  me  that  possibly  the  Mipwv  of  Eusebius,  an  archie- 
piscopal  see,  may  be  identical  with  Kasas.  See  "Des- 
ert of  the  Exodus,"  p.  418. 

Zadam  gave  us  some  interesting  accounts  of  the 
country  due  east  of  this,  which  he  has  often  traversed. 
We  are  here  about  twelve  miles  west  of  the  hadj 
road.  Beyond  the  ruins  of  Khan  Zebib,  which  we 
are  about  to  visit,  and  which  is  close  to  the  road,  he 
assures  us  there  are  no  ruins  whatever  in  the  "  white 
country ;"  that  there  are  hills  of  no  great  height  be- 
yond it,  and  then  ground  like  this  plain  for  three 
days;  very  little  water,  no  rivers,  but  good  pasture 
in  the  rainy  season,  becoming  scantier  as  we  proceed 
eastward. 

After  the  three  days'  journey  across  the  "  white," 
or  limestone,  country,  is  a  region  of  black  basalt,  a 
"land  of  black  stones."  This  he  describes  as  being 
two  very  long  days'  journey  across;  and  he  thinks, 
but  is  not  sure,  it  is  about  three  days'  journey  from 
north  to  south.  This  volcanic  region  he  calls  El 
Hhurreh.  It  is,  he  says,  debatable  land  between  the 
Southern  'Anizeh  and  the  Beni  Sakk'r ;  and  the  lat- 
ter never  cross  it  while  the  former  are  there.  Be- 
sides these  two  tribes,  there  are  sundry  small  bands 
of  "very  bad  men,''  who  live  there  always,  and  steal 
camels  whenever  they  can.  They  are  outlawed  by 
both.  The  country  itself  he  describes  as  being  ex- 
actly like  the  Hauran,  which  he  knows  very  well, 
and  as  full  of  ruined  cities,  built  of  black  stone.  He 
described  with  good   pantomime  how  he  had  often 


THE   BLACK   COUNTRY.  183 

swung  the  stone  doors,  which  are  still  hanging  in 
their  sockets.  Water  can  be  found  in  various  places, 
in  deep,  narrow  nullahs. 

Beyond  this  black-stone  country,  eastward,  are  two 
days  more  of  white  ground,  hilly,  but  with  good  camel 
pasture;  and  then  begins  a  desert  with  nothing  in  it 
but  antelopes  and  wild  cows  (Bekk'r  el  wash) — i.  e., 
from  his  description  of  their  horns,  the  oryx  antelope 
and  the  bubale. 

Mr.  Drake  afterward  informed  me  that  he  had 
heard  a  similar  description  of  this  black  country,  un- 
der the  same  name  of  El  Hhurreh,  when  traveling 
with  Captain  Burton,  north-east  of  Damascus;  and 
there  seems  no  reason  to  doubt  the  account.  If  it  be 
so,  here  is  certainly  a  rich  field  for  adventurous  ex- 
ploration by  any  one  in  search  of  new  ground.  We 
asked  Zadam  if  he  could  himself  conduct  travelers 
over  it.  He  said  he  could  easily  do  so  at  the  proper 
time  of  year,  but  it  would  require  preparation,  and 
he  would  be  sorry,  on  account  of  the  outlaws,  to  go 
with  a  less  force  than  seventy  spearmen.  These,  he 
said,  would  be  enough  to  overawe  any  robbers  in  the 
country. 

February  21. — At  sunrise  the  cry  was  "Eastward 
ho!"  to  visit  the  hadj  road,  and  explore  the  ruins  of 
Zebib,  which  we  had  seen  from  M'Seitbeh.  For  two 
hours  we  rode  up  and  down  the  rolling  grass  plains. 
Save  a  fox-hunt,  after  a  reynard  who  started  under 
our  horses'  feet,  and  showed  himself  as  great  an  adept 
at  doubling  as  his  English  cousins,  the  ride  so  far  had 


184  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

been  without  incident.  The  clouds  now  lifted,  and 
we  saw  the  watery  mist  rolling  on  before  us,  to  make 
a  vain  effort  to  moisten  the  sandy  wastes  of  Arabia. 

Two  prominent  landmarks  were  here  conspicuous 
— Jebel  Jiahl,  about  two  miles  from  Khan  Zebib,  east 
half  south,  and  Jebel  Suaga,  bearing  south-east,  per- 
haps ten  miles  distant.  For  nearly  an  hour  we  rode 
up  the  course  of  the  Wady  Shobek,  very  shallow  and 
wide.  It  is  the  channel  for  the  reception  of  the  drain- 
age of  a  level  plain  many  miles  in  extent,  surrounded 
on  three  sides  by  ranges  of  inconsiderable  elevation. 

The  scenery  now  changed.  The  sun  shone  on  a 
dead-level  plain  without  a  stone,  with  only  here  and 
there  a  small  tuft  of  artemisia,  about  four  inches 
high,  and  a  little  plant  now  and  then  appearing, 
roused  to  life  by  the  recent  rains,  for  the  plain  had 
evidently  been  but  lately  a  wide  lagoon.  It  runs 
some  four  miles  farther  to  the  low  rocky  hills.  A 
strange  mirage  was  before  us,  which  lifted  the  distant 
objects,  and  elevated  every  little  tuft  into  a  tree,  and 
the  sparse  blades  of  grass  into  a  jungle;  while  the 
horses,  inspirited  by  the  unwonted  smoothness  of  the 
expanse,  galloped  gayly  on,  and  trees  sunk  to  tufts, 
and  jungle  melted  into  grass  an  inch  or  two  high,  as 
we  neared  it.  "We  might  look  in  vain  for  the  expect- 
ed temples  and  pillars  —  poorer  and  poorer  did  the 
ruins  appear  as  we  approached  them. 

A  herd  of  gazelle  were  sighted,  some  forty  or  fifty 
in  number,  trotting  quietly  along.  We  spread  our- 
selves out.     Trotter  and  Daoud,  the  only  ones  armed, 


KHAN   ZEBIB.  185 

dashed  like  wild  Indians  to  the  front,  while  we  spur- 
red on,  on  either  side,  to  turn  the  herd,  if  need  be. 
"We  nearly  headed  them  as  they  trotted  to  the  left, 
and  then  the  huntsmen  galloped  to  the  head  of  the 
herd  and  fired,  but  too  far  and  hurried.  The  gazelles 
became  alarmed  now,  and  the  speed  of  the  horses  was 
no  match  for  them. 

But  the  incident  had  brought  us  far  on  our  way, 
and  we  were  near  the  ruins.  We  had  to  rein  in. 
We  might  have  been  galloping  across  a  deeply-ridged 
fallow.  For  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width, 
every  three  or  four  yards  was  a  deep  wide  rut,  all 
in  parallel  lines.  We  were  crossing  the  hadj  road. 
Files  of  hundreds  of  camels,  slowly  following  each 
other  in  the  weary  tramp  to  Mecca,  had,  in  course  of 
ao-es,  worn  the  hard  surface  of  the  desert  into  these 
deep  furrows. 

Just  beyond  this  strange,  weird -like  road,  strewn 
with  the  bleached  bones  of  camels  all  along  its  course, 
where  the  hills  begin  to  rise,  we  were  at  Khan  Zebib. 
The  mirage  had  indeed  been  deceptive.  A  large 
ruined  khan,  with  arches  and  gate- ways,  and  a  few 
Greek  remains  beyond,  on  a  series  of  mounds,  were 
all  that  struck  us  at  first  sight. 

It  may  be  observed  that  all  the  maps  place  the 
hadj  road  at  this  point  about  eleven  miles  too  far 
west,  each  writer  following  his  predecessor.  This  is 
easily  accounted  for,  as  the  Arabs  speak  of  the  road 
as  on  the  other  side  of  Um  Rasas.  We  were  soon 
able  to  take  our  sextant  and  compass  observations 

13 


186 


THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


for  Khan  Zebib,  so  as  to  fix  its  exact  position,  hav- 
ing many  known  points— Shihan,  Um  Easas,  etc. — in 
view. 

The  khan  itself  is  an  interesting  specimen  of  the 
Saracenic   architecture  of  earlier  and   better   days, 


NO.  13 


KHAN   ZEBIB 


though  now  allowed,  by  the  slovenly  carelessness  of 
the  Moslems,  who  never  repair  any  thing,  however 
convenient  or  useful  to  them,  to  become  a  hopeless, 
roofless  ruin.  Certainly,  as  Zadam  observed,  it  is  not 
the  business  of  the  Bedouin  to  repair  these  places,  as 


KHAN  ZEBIB.  187 

it  is  not  they  who  would  use  them ;  and  the  central 
government,  he  shrewdly  added,  would  have  to  send 
more  soldiers  than  workmen  for  the  task.  Such  is 
the  progress  of  disintegration,  material  and  political, 
in  these  lands. 

Zebib  has  evidently  been  built  with  the  materials 
of  an  earlier  city,  and  Christian  churches  have  sup- 
plied their  stones,  to  shelter  the  pilgrims  to  Moham- 
med's shrine.  It  is  a  massive  square  inclosure,  there 
having  been  semicircular  towers  or  buttresses  on  each 
of  the  four  sides,  for  strength  and  defense.  The  gate- 
ways in  the  centre  of  the  east  and  west  walls  open 
into  a  large  square,  round  which  were  arched  cham- 
bers, six  on  the  north,  five  on  the  south,  and  four  on 
each  of  the  other  sides.  The  outside  walls  of  the 
khan  have  once  been  carefully  cemented,  but,  except- 
ing a  few  fragments,  it  is  only  on  the  north  face  that 
the  plaster  remains.  All  the  inner  door-ways  are 
.entire,  some  of  the  lintels  being  sculptured  stones 
from  Christian  edifices,  of  which  we  secured  several 
good  photographs.  Many  of  the  other  stones  used 
up  in  the  building  were  scratched  with  curious  or- 
namentation, such  as  I  have  not  elsewhere  seen,  but 
which  may  probably  be  late  Byzantine  work. 

Beyond  the  khan  eastward  were  several  hillocks, 
with  the  remains  of  Greek  buildings  of  much  earlier 
date  and  much  more  careful  masonry.  Of  one  tem- 
ple a  massive  angle  is  left,  still  partly  standing.  One 
building  puzzled  us,  though  its  plan  was  very  evi- 
dent, and  it  must  have  been  a  small  temple.     It  was 


188 


THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


a  square  of  eleven  yards.  There  had  been  a  door  to 
the  east,  and  apparently  another  to  the  south  (though 
this  may  have  been  a  niche),  completely  broken  away. 
The  east  and  west  walls  had  had  finely  dressed  double 
Doric  pilasters ;  and  many  columns  and  Doric  capitals 
were  lying  about,  though  where  the  pillars  had  stood 
we  could  not  make  out. 


1^ 

^s 

M 

^^ 

^^Q 

yf' 

Pliiir-n^f ' 

'IIMli'''!'lli'" 

SO.  14. 


SCITLPTURED    ENTABLATURES,  ZEBIB. 


There  had  been  many  finely-sculptured  lintels;  and 
numbers  of  stones  with  very  prett}^  lace-work  of  va- 
rious patterns,  apparently  friezes  or  entablatures, 
strewed  the  ground  around.  Wells  were  in  abund- 
ance, half-choked  and  now  dry,  and  a  number  of  nat- 
ural caves,  or  perhaps  old  subterranean  quarries  util- 
ized, into  which  we  crept,  and  found  some  with  arches 
and  carefully  vaulted  roofs,  pillars,  and  walls,  all  alike 


PREHISTORIC   REMAINS.  189 

cemented,  and  making  an  irregular  set  of  chambers 
of  considerable  extent.  From  the  plastering,  they 
must  have  beei^  intended  for  great  water  -  cisterns ; 
but  now  they  are  silted  up  to  within  a  few  feet  of  the 
roof,  and  are  used  as  folds  and  sleeping-places  by  the 
wandering  Bedouin.  In  such  a  cave  David  might 
easily  have  escaped  Saul's  notice,  as  he  entered,  to 
take  rest. 

Walking  up  the  hill,  a  little  farther  east  than  what 
I  may  call  the  Greek  city,  we  came  upon  a  number 
of  artificial  mounds  and  circles  of  stones.  Though 
afterward,  in  the  western  mountain  range  of  Moab, 
we  often  noticed  such  remains,  yet  this  was  the  first 
time  I  had  observed  unquestionable  evidence  of  the 
cairns  of  the  primeval  inhabitants.  We  longed  for 
tools  and  time,  to  dig  and  open  a  cist,  where,  perhaps, 
we  might  find  ornaments  and  flint  implements.  But 
we  could  only  note  these  faint  traces  of  aborigines 
before  the  basalt-building  inhabitants  came  in. 

As  we  were  returning,  Trotter  noticed  a  peculiar 
stone  construction  in  a  wall;  and  we  found  that  the 
stones  on  the  top  of  the  wall  had  been  formed  into 
a  sort  of  rude  sarcophagus  for  a  body,  but  the  jackals 
had  contrived  to  drag  out  all  of  it,  except  the  skull, 
between  the  interstices. 


190  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Departure  from  Um  Rasas.— Dhra'a. — The  Themed. — R'mail. — A 
riverside  Camp. — Zafaran. — A  military  Keep. — Supplies  running 
short. —  Start  for  the  North-east. — Kasr  el  Herri. — Sun'eying. — 
Roman  Road. — Um  Weleed. — Extent  of  Um  Weleed. — Saracenic 
Khan. — Roman  City, — Streets. — Large  Court,  or  Pretorium  Gate- 
way.— Doric  Temple. — Date  of  these  Cities. — No  Clues  to  the  an- 
cient Name. — Um  el  Kuseir. — Large  Caverns. — Ziza. — Interesting 
Remains. — Roman  military  Station. — Magnificent  Tank.— Elabo- 
rate System  of  Irrigation  in  olden  Time. — Large  vaulted  Fort. — 
Burial-place  aloft. — Ibrahim  Pasha's  Garrison. — Other  Forts  de- 
stroyed.— Remains  of  Cuphic  Inscriptions. — Fine  Christian  Church. 
— Variety  of  wild  Animals  and  Birds. — Return  of  Convoy  from  Je- 
rusalem.— Evening  Bells. — A  Fugitive.— Stripped  by  the  Anizeh. 
— The  Ibex-hunter. — Honesty  of  our  Men  and  of  the  Turkish  Sol- 
diers.— Sunday's  Rest. — Mohammedan  Criticism  on  Christian  In- 
consistency. 

We  had  now  pretty  well  explored  the  district  of 
Um  Rasas,  and  moved  our  quarters  on  February  22d, 
without  any  definite  route  fixed.  Going  north-west 
by  north,  after  an  hour,  we  rode  through  the  ruins 
called  Dhra'a,  a  Moabite  city  of  the  very  oldest  type, 
merely  ruined  heaps  and  foundations,  with  no  trace 
of  arches.  It  occupies  the  southern  slope  of  a  hill. 
Can  this  be  the  Zoar  spoken  of  by  Eusebius?  The 
occurrence  of  the  name  here,  so  far  inland,  may  cast 
some  light  on  the  confusion  in  the  references  to  the 
situation  of  Zoar.     But  the  discovery  of  Zi'ara  (chap. 


SHORT  SUPPLIES.  191 

xvii.)  seems  to  dispose  of  the  claims  of  these  Dhra'as 
to  be  Biblical  sites. 

After  a  short  day's  ride,  we  came  upon  the  ruins 
of  an  old  fortress  on  the  Themed.  K'mail  stands 
three  hundred  feet  above  the  river.  The  plain  below 
was  now  covered  with  herbage  dense  and  rank.  Here 
we  descended ;  and  on  the  velvet  turf,  close  to  some 
large  pools  in  the  bed  of  the  stream,  our  tents  were 
pitched,  and  the  animals  turned  loose,  to  graze  at  will 
within  the  natural  amphitheatre.  Here  we  spent  two 
daySj'surveying  and  exploring  the  ruins  within  reach, 
Zafaran  and  others. 

Our  supplies  were  now  getting  low,  and  our  convoy 
three  days  overdue  from  Jerusalem.  In  the  lajder 
things  looked  serious.  No  more  rice ;  cheese  had 
given  out  some  days ;  the  brandy  was  getting  low ; 
the  cakes  of  chocolate  could  be  counted ;  only  two 
more  boxes  of  sardines,  and  one  plate  of  figs.  Worst 
of  all,  the  flour  was  at  an  end,  and  there  was  nothing 
to  cook  with  but  a  little  green  brush-wood,  collected 
with  great  pains  from  a  distance.  Plenty  of  lamb 
and  buttermilk,  partridge  and  pigeon  ad  libitum,  and 
tea,  coffee,  and  Liebig  to  stand  a  siege.  But  meat 
and  Liebig,  without  bread  or  vegetables,  was  trying 
diet  already ;  and  without  fuel  to  boil  the  kettle,  the 
prospect  was  worse  for  the  future.  To  add  to  the 
dark  look-out,  we  were  at  the  last  packet  of  candles. 

Preparations  were  accordingly  made,  and  at  day- 
break next  morning  a  convoy  of  muleteers  and  five 
mules,  under  the  guard  of  a  Beni  Sakk'r  spearman. 


192  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

were  dispatched  two  days' journey,  to  Es  Salt,  to  pur- 
chase whatever  the  markets  of  Gilead  niight  afford, 
and  to  return  to  a  camp  vaguely  defined,  somewhere 
to  the  north  -  east  of  our  present  one,  but  of  which 
some  wandering  shepherd  on  the  way  would  doubt- 
less be  able  to  give  them  information.  The  thermom- 
eter in  the  night  fell  to  28° — max.,  35°. 

Next  day  Zadam  advised  us  to  move  to  Ziza,  where 
he  promised  we  should  find  very  fine  ruins,  never  yet 
visited  by  any  European.  It  was  only  a  six  hours' 
journey  across  the  plains. 

Leaving  the  tents  still  standing  and  the  muleteers 
dawdling,  we  set  out  due  north  with  our  sheik  and 
Daoud,  who  bore  the  camera  and  photographic  stand 
packed  on  his  saddle.  We  w^ere  now  traversing  a 
water-shed,  the  whole  district  being  the  fruitful  moth- 
er of  infant  wadys,  up  and  down  which  we  rode  trans- 
versely, all  of  them  running  due  east  and  west. 

"We  passed  Zafaran  again,  but  did  not  stop,  and  in 
half  an  hour  reached  Kasr  el  Herri,  on  the  summit  of 
a  high  knoll,  commanding  almost  a  panorama.  On  a 
lower  tell,  connected  with  this  hill  by  a  sloping  shoul- 
der, are  extensive  shapeless  ruins,  much  grass-grown, 
called  Kirbet  el  Herri,  the  old  town,  of  which  this 
Kasr  was  the  citadel.  Kasr  el  Herri  is  simply  a  keep, 
or  strong  square  fortress,  with  a  large  space  inclosed 
round  it,  like  the  others  already  described;  the  inside 
of  the  keep,  like  Zafaran,  filled  in  with  stones.  Among 
these  was  a  hole,  into  which  we  scrambled,  and  found 
it  to  be  a  h  vena's  lair,  with  a  collection  of  bones,  chief- 


UM   WELEED,  193 

ly  camels',  but  also  five  or  six  human  skulls,  and 
many  thigh-bones,  rifled  from  Arab  graves. 

The  old  Eoman  road  can  be  easily  traced  here, 
marked  by  the  evenness  and  regularity  of  the  par- 
tially turf-covered  lines  of  stones.  The  pavement  has 
long  since  disappeared,  and  its  stones  have  become 
upturned,  angular,  and  shapeless,  like  the  rest.  Fol- 
lowing the  line  of  this  road,  after  a  smart  ride  of 
thirty-five  minutes  across  a  plain,  we  reached  Urn 
Weleed,  "  Mother  of  Children." 

Urn  Weleed  is  a  most  interesting  as  well  as  ex- 
tensive ruin ;  and  though  marked  in  the  maps,  I  can 
not  find  that  it  has  been  visited  by  any  previous  trav- 
eler. It  is  on  an  old  Eoman  road,  and  its  remains  ap- 
pear to  belong  to  three  distinct  epochs.  Like  all  the 
towns  of  the  "  Mishor,"  or  plain  of  Moab,  it  stands  on 
a  "  tell,"  or  mamelon.  Within  the  walls  it  is  more 
than  half  a  mile  from  west  to  east;  considerably  less 
from  north  to  south.  There  are  many  caves,  and 
traces  of  scattered  houses,  outside  the  city  wall,  which 
can  everywhere  be  very  clearly  traced. 

Beginning  from  the  south-west,  on  which  side  we 
approached  it,  there  stands,  isolated,  below  the  com- 
mencement of  the  ancient  city,  a  Saracenic  khan.  It 
is  similar  to  that  of  Zebib,  but  much  more  perfect, 
though  smaller,  and,  like  it,  is  built  from  the  mate- 
rials of  more  ancient  edifices.  It  seems  probable  that, 
along  the  course  of  the  old  Eoman  road,  there  passed 
here  a  branch  line  to  the  hadj  road  from  Damascus 
to  Mecca,  for  the  accommodation  of  pilgrims  west 


194  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

of  the  Jordan,  for  whom  this  would  be  the  easiest 
route. 

Above  the  khan  are  large  grass-grown  mounds, 
covering  old  ruins,  and  now  used  as  favorite  Arab 
burying-places,  with  the  sheep-skin  coat  of  the  de- 
ceased stretched  over  his  grave.  Among  these 
mounds  an  amphitheatre  can  be  very  distinctly 
traced. 

Passing  eastward,  wnthin  the  walls,  the  ruins  be- 
come distinct,  and  less  covered  with  turf  The  streets 
are  plain,  some  of  them  still  arcaded  with  a  succession 
of  semicircular  arches,  perhaps  of  a  late  Roman  date, 
which  are  still  standing ;  with  the  large  flat  slabs  of 
stones  laid  for  a  roof  from  arch  to  arch,  and  now  used 
as  houses  and  folds  by  the  tribes  that  occasionally 
camp  here.  Many  portions  of  massive  wall  are  of 
Roman  rustic-dressed  stone.  I  found  in  one  place 
the  inverted  scallop  shell  of  a  niche  built  into  a  latei' 
wall,  and  many  cornice  stones  so  employed.  It  would 
seem  from  this  as  though  the  place  had  been  inhab- 
ited since  the  Roman  times;  and  yet  these  walls,  with 
the  architectural  fragments,  looked  of  an  earlier  and 
better  date  than  the  khan. 

Near  the  east  end  of  the  city  we  found  a  large  open 
space,  well  paved  with  large  square  slabs,  still  perfect 
and  clear,  and  surrounded  by  ruins  and  broken  pil- 
lars, with  a  few  fragments  of  capitals ;  as  if  it  had 
once  been  encircled  by  a  colonnade.  It  was  forty- 
one  paces  by  thirty-eight  in  extent  inside,  and  may 
have  been  the  old  ayopa,  or  forum.     Immediately  be- 


DORIC  TEMPLE. 


195 


yond  was  the  line  of  the  east  wall  of  the  city,  built  of 
Roman  rustic-dressed  stone,  and  the  central  gate-way 
and  street,  still  plainly  to  be  traced. 

Just  beyond  the  gate  is  a  Doric  temple,  twelve 
yards  north  to  south  by  ten  yards  east  to  west.  The 
door  of  the  temple  faced  east,  and  in  the  centre  of  the 

w 


NO.  15. 


PLAN   OF   TEMPLE,  UM   WELEED. 


a.  Door. 

6.  Niche. 

c.  Door  or  niche  ;  remains  too  broken  to  decide. 

rf,  d.  Four  pilasters,  formed  of  one  column,  and  not  twin  ones,  as  at  Zeblb. 

e.  Bases  of  columns  in  situ. 

f.  No  bases  left,  but  Doric  capitals  of  four  pillars  lying  on  the  ground,  be- 
sides those  of  pilasters,  of  which  three  are  there. 

g.  Sloping  debris,  evidently  the  ascent  to  the  door. 

south  wall  is  a  small  semicircular  niche,  or  apse,  foi- 
the  image.  Inside  the  door-way  the  bases  of  two  col- 
umns remain  in  situ;  and  four  plain  Doric  capitals, 
and  portions  of  shafts,  are  lying  about.  This  temple 
is  exactly  similar  in  all  its  arrangements  to  the  old 
Doric  temple  near  Khan  Zebib.  Are  these  the  re- 
mains of  an  ancient  Chemosh,  or  Baal-worship?     We 


196  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

found  afterward  several  similar  temples  in  various 
stages  of  ruin,  all  of  them  outside  a  city,  always  at  its 
east  end,  and  with  the  door  to  the  east,  and  always 
Doric,  whenever  the  architecture  could  be  determined. 

What  is  the  date  of  these  cities,  all  so  like  each 
other  ?  They  are  unquestionably  far  older  than  the 
early  Saracenic,  as  we  may  see  by  the  ruined  khans ; 
centuries  less  weathered,  and  less  hoary  in  hue.  Must 
they  not  be  at  least  Maccabsean,  as  the  Roman  would 
be  far  nearer  the  Saracenic?  It  is  worthy  of  note 
that  we  searched  here  in  vain  for  any  traces  of  a 
Christian  church,  or  Christian  traces  of  any  kind. 

The  most  uniform  and  remarkable  feature  about 
all  these  towns  is  the  vast  number  of  wells,  all  now 
dry;  and  of  huge  cisterns,  or  under -ground  store- 
houses, some  for  water,  and  others  with  a  bell-shaped 
neck  and  small  mouth,  for  storing  corn.  Nowhere 
are  they  more  noticeable  than  here.  Not  only  the 
place,  but  its  environs,  are  honey-combed  with  them. 
Some  are  still  used  by  the  Bedouin  occasionally  for 
secreting  corn  ;  and  to  others,  which  must  have  been 
old  quarries,  utilized  and  cemented  for  reservoirs,  they 
have  broken  side  entrances,  to  give  access  to  their 
flocks  for  shelter. 

The  name  of  Um  Weleed,  like  Um  Rasas,  is  anoth- 
er of  the  vernacular  Arabic  appellations,  which  gives 
no  clue  to  its  history  or  old  designation  ;  yet,  to  judge 
from  its  remains,  it  must  have  been  among  the  largest 
and  most  important,  perhaps  sixth  or  seventh,  of  the 
towns  of  the  Belka.     Not  a  trace  of  an  inscription  did 


UM   EL   KUSEIR.  197 

we  see ;  nor,  carefully  as  written  stones  are  looked 
after  by  the  Arabs,  did  we  hear  a  whisper  of  one, 
either  black  or  white.  All  we  could  do  further  here 
was  to  take  the  bearings  for  our  map. 

From  Um  Weleed,  along  the  Eoman  road,  to  Um 
el  Kuseir,  was  only  twenty-five  minutes'  quiet  riding 
over  an  easy  plain.  There  is  no  ruined  bridge,  as 
marked  in  all  the  maps,  between  these  two  places,  nor 
is  there  any  wady  for  a  bridge  to  span  ;  but  there  is 
in  one  place  a  piece  of  old  wall,  which  has  been  con- 
structed to  collect  and  direct  the  water  coming  down 
the  sloping  valley  in  flood  times;  and  this  the  Arabs 
called,  to  us,  the  "  jisr,"  or  bridge. 

Um  el  Kuseir  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  land- 
marks of  the  district,  situated  on  a  high  tell.  A  strong 
massive  tower,  of  which  much  more  remains  than  of 
its  neighbor,  stands  boldly  out.  Below,  as  usual,  is 
the  town,  not  so  large  as  Um  Weleed,  and  much  more 
ruined. 

Our  new  camp  was  at  Ziza.  Here  at  last  we  have 
lighted  upon  a  spot  about  which  there  can  be  no  con- 
troversy as  to  its  ancient  name,  unchanged  in  a  single 
letter.  It  must,  in  the  later  empire,  have  been  one 
of  the  most  important  places  of  Eoman  Arabia.  Its 
name  occurs  in  the  "  Notitia,"  immediately  before 
that  of  Areopolis,  as  one  of  the  chief  military  stations 
of  the  province.    "  Equites  Dalmatici  Illyriciani  Ziza^ 

We  found  our  camp  charmingly  situated  on  a  low 
flat  plain,  below  a  ruin-covered  ridge,  by  the  side  of 
an  inmiense  tank  of  solid  masonry,  measuring  140 


198 


THE   LAND    OF   MOAB. 


yards  by  110  yards.  The  bottom  was  still  filled  with 
water,  and  from  the  surface  of  the  water  to  the  edge 
of  the  tank  was  seventeen  feet  six  inches.  Just  be- 
hind our  tents  were  the  steps  leading  down  to  the 
water,  wide  and  easy,  so  that  horses  could  easily  go 


NO.  lb. 


ZlZi,  FKUM    THE    DlbfANCE 


up  and  down.  The  masonry  was  simply  magnifi- 
cent. The  courses  were  about  two  feet  each,  and 
many  of  the  single  stones  six  feet  in  length.  The 
construction  is  still  quite  perfect,  excepting  a  stone 
here  and  there  in  the  rim,  which  is  recessed  back,  so 
as  to  leave  an  inside  pathway  all  round.     But  the 


ANCIENT  TANK. 


199 


most  interesting  portion  of  all  is  the  very  ingenious 
contrivance  by  which  the  tank  has  been  supplied 
with  water.  It  is  sunk  at  the  angle  of  a  shallow, 
wide  valley,  just  below  the  rising  ground  on  which 
the  town  stood.  At  its  north-east  angle,  above  the 
top  of  the  tank,  are  very  perfect  sluice-gates  of  mass- 


'^ 


NO.  17. 


TANK   AT   ZIZA. 


ive  masonry.  In  a  line  with  the  sluice-gates,  and 
also  at  right  angles  with  them,  are  great  walls,  with 
a  solid  earthen  embankment  behind  them.  The  wall 
at  right  angles  extends  some  way,  and  then  the  em- 
bankment is  carried  on  in  the  same  line,  continuously, 
across  the  plain,  so  as  to  dam  back  the  water,  which, 


200  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

during  the  occasional  floods,  would  come  down  the 
valley,  if  the  very  shallow  and  wide  depression  may, 
by  courtesy,  be  so  termed.  Higher  up,  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  embankment,  are  another  set  of  sluice- 
gates, for  letting  off  the  waste  water  after  the  tank 
was  full. 

The  whole  system,  and  the  artificial  sluices,  Buxton 
remarked,  were  precisely  similar  in  plan  to  what  he 
had  observed  in  the  ancient  works  for  irrigation  both 
in  India  and  Ceylon.  But  this  tank  has  suffered  the 
fate  of  the  stupendous  works  of  Ceylon,  of  which  it  is 
the  pigmy  representative.  In  the  course  of  ages  of 
neglect,  the  rich  loamy  soil  has  been  carried  down 
with  the  rains,  and  has  filled  up  the  wide  valley  for 
several  feet,  choking  up  the  access  to  the  lower  sluices, 
and  the  water  has  burst  its  way  through  into  its  old 
channel  by  the  side  of  the  upper  sluice.  In  the  high- 
er parts  of  the  valley  there  are  massive  stone  breast- 
works, backed  by  earthen  embankments,  to  turn  the 
water  from  other  depressions  into  this  central  one. 

Such  works  as  this  easily  explain  to  us  the  enor- 
mous population  of  which  the  ruined  cities  give  evi- 
dence. Everywhere  is  some  artificial  means  of  re- 
taining the  occasional  supplies  of  rain-water.  So 
long  as  these  precious  structures  remained  in  order, 
cultivation  was  continuous,  and  famines  unknown. 
But  their  efficient  maintenance  was  dependent  on 
the  supremacy  of  a  domestic  government  sufficiently 
strono-  to  enforce  systematic  industry  for  the  common 
o-ood,  on  the  part  of  these  scattered  populations,  and 


RUINS   OF   ZIZA.  201 

to  secure  to  all  of  them  the  peaceable  fruit  of  their 
labors.  This  authority  was  annihilated  by  the  Islam- 
ite invasion. 

The  Moslems  did  not  wantonly  destroy  the  means 
for  artificial  irrigation ;  but  if  they  did  not,  as  seems 
too  probable,  at  once  exterminate  the  indigenous  pop- 
ulation, they  at  least  paralyzed  all  organizations  for 
the  common  good  ;  robbed  the  people  of  every  secu- 
rity for  the  peaceable  enjoyment  of  their  industry, 
until  a  succession  of  wars  had  reduced  them  all  to  the 
position  of  nomads ;  and  left  the  miserable  remnant 
of  a  dense  and  thriving  nation  entirely  dependent  on 
the  neighboring  countries  for  their  supply  of  corn 
— a  dependence  which  must  continue  till  these  bor- 
der lands,  under  a  settled  central  government,  are  se- 
cure from  the  inroads  of  the  predatory  bands  of  the 
East. 

But  to  return  to  the  ruins  of  Ziza.  The  tank  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  ever  directly  protected  by 
defensive  works.  It  was  the  offspring  of  an  era  of 
general  security,  when  the  safety  implied  by  imperial 
rule  seemed  a  sufficient  return  for  works  of  public 
utility — when  the  plain  was  swept  only  by  the  defen- 
sive troops  of  the  Dalmatian  cavalry,  who  could  wa- 
ter at  all  times  at  the  reservoir. 

The  line  of  circumvallation  is  half  a  mile  distant; 
but  in  the  intervening  space  are  two  conspicuous 
buildings,  the  only  ones  which  catch  the  eye  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  which  stand  in  bold  relief  against  the  ho- 
rizon, being  on  the  crest  of  a  ridge,  elevated  consider- 

14 


202  THE   LAND    OF    MOAB. 

ably  above  the  depression  in  which  the  tank  has  been 
excavated. 

The  first  and  largest  of  these  buildings,  apparently 
of  Saracenic  origin,  consists  of  a  solidly  built  fort, 
twenty-three  yards  by  nineteen,  with  a  parallelogram 
attached,  sixteen  yards  by  seven.  Both  were  built, 
as  it  would  appear,  about  the  same  period,  and  with 
materials  taken  from  older  edifices,  many  of  the  stones 
being  sculptured ;  some  of  them,  by  the  Greek  crosses 
chiseled  on  them,  being  apparently  taken  from  Byzan- 
tine churches.  One  stone  in  the  front  wall  bears  in 
relief  a  sculpture  of  two  chariots  with  horses.  The 
roof  of  the  lower  story  in  each  building  is  still  per- 
fect, a  fine  arched  vault,  but  with  no  aperture  for 
light,  except  from  the  door.  Here,  during  the  period 
of  our  stay,  our  muleteers,  with  our  forty  beasts,  were 
all  comfortably  housed. 

The  attached  parallelogram  contains  another  per- 
fect vaulted  chamber,  opening  only  from  the  great 
chamber,  and  the  staircase  leading  to  the  upper  sto- 
ry, which  is  entire,  with  the  exception  of  the  roof 
Semicircular  arches  still  span  it  in  two  places,  and 
it  has  many  loop-holes  and  narrow  arched  windows. 
There  are  also  several  side  chambers  entire,  and  the 
whole  has  been  fitted  for  engines  of  war.  This  up- 
per floor  is  now  utilized  as  an  Arab  cemetery,  per- 
haps as  a  place  of  security  from  the  hyenas.  In  one 
corner  there  had  been  a  recent  burial,  with  a  sprink- 
ling of  earth,  and  great  stones  heaped  over  the  body. 
The  clothes  of  the  deceased  were  laid  by  his  grave. 


EGYPTIAN   INVASION.  203 

Another  staircase  led  to  the  roof,  and  we  could  walk 
all  round  the  building  on  the  broad  massive  wall. 
This  castle,  we  are  told,  was  occupied,  during  the  war 
of  ^rehemet  Ali,  bj  a  garrison  of  Egyptians,  left  here 
by  Ibrahim  Pasha,  who  did  much  damage  to  the  ruins 
of  Ziza,  and  wantonly  destroyed  a  very  perfect  build- 


ZIZA.      PIGEON-HOLE    STONES. 


ing  in  the  town,  and  several  perfect  Christian  church- 
es. ^  Zadam  assured  us  that,  before  the  Egyptian  in- 
vasion, the  large  buildings  inside  the  town  had  their 
roofs  entire,  and  were  often  used  as  places  of  shelter. 
The  other  castle,  to  the  east  of  this,  is  apparently 
of  the  Roman  age,  and  has  been  reduced  to  a  ruinous 


204 


THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


State  by  the  troops  of  Ibrahim  Pasha.  The  external 
walls  alone  remain,  with  a  conspicuous  inner  niche, 
alcoved  in  the  south  face.  It  looks  like  an  old  tem- 
ple utilized,  first  as  a  fort,  and  then  as  a  mosque.  In 
it  is  a  beautifully  carved  lintel,  of  very  rich  late  By- 
zantine, or  perhnps  Persian  work;  and  other  sculp- 


NO.  19. 


zizA.     crniic  in.sckiption 


tured  stones  are  built  in,  as  well  as  some  fragments  of 
Cuphic  inscriptions. 

Eastward  from  the  two  castles,  on  a  higher  ridge, 
extend  the  ruins  of  Koman  Ziza.  They  are  in  char- 
acter a  repetition  of  those  of  Um  \Veleed,  but  more 


FINE   CHRISTIAN   CHURCH.  205 

extensive.  Near  the  western  end  is  a  fine  Saracenic 
building,  quite  perfect  up  to  Ibrahim  Pasha's  time. 
The  gate-way  still  remains,  with  its  richly  carved 
fagade.  There  are  several  semicircular  niches  in  the 
walls,  and  fragments  of  Cuphic  inscriptions  appear  in 
many  places  on  the  courses.  Several  carved  crosses, 
capitals,  pieces  of  frieze;  an  olive-mill,  made  of  hard 
basalt,  with  the  solid  cone  of  lava,  which  fitted  into 
the  cup  for  crushing  the  berries;  and  pieces  of  sar- 
cophagi strew  the  ground.  The  oil-press  was,  in  ev- 
ery respect,  like  the  one  we  found  at  Dhiban. 

But  by  far  the  most  interesting  ruin  is  one  of  the 
Christian  churches,  placed,  like  all  the  others  we  have 
noticed,  in  the  east  quarter  of  the  city.  There  is  a 
large  apse  left  entire,  and  on  the  south  side  another 
shorter  aisle,  the  apse  being  about  three  yards  short 
of  the  other.  There  are  indications  of  another  aisle 
to  the  north,  but,  from  the  way  in  which  the  ruins  are 
heaped,  this  could  not  be  certainly  ascertained.  A 
colonnade  has  separated  the  centre  from  the  aisle,  and 
stones,  sculptured  with  crosses,  and  a  column,  are  ly- 
ino-  among  the  loose  stones  of  the  old  arches  in  the 
interior.  We  wer<i  able  to  get  a  good  photograph  of 
the  south  wall  of  this  church.* 

Next  day  a  fugitive  arrived  to  claim  the  protection 
of  his  sheik.  He  had  been  stripped  by  the  Anizeh, 
who  had  left  him  with  no  other  garment  than  a  cam- 


*  For  the  description  of  a  curious  atmosplieric  j)lieiionienon  noticed 
at  Ziza,  see  Appendix  B. 


206  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

el's  sack,  with  a  hole  for  his  head  and  slits  for  his 
arms.  The  Anizeh  had  carried  off  sixty  camels,  and 
other  stock  besides,  in  this  raid.  These  are  to  be 
distinguished  from  the  well-known  Northern  Anizeh, 
who  roam  between  Damascus  and  Palmyra.  Though 
of  the  same  clan,  they  have  distinct  sheiks,  and  sel- 
dom combine,  for  war  or  foray,  with  their  Northern 
cousins.  Their  territory  extends  far  to  the  east  and 
south-east  of  the  Belka,  and  is  very  poor  and  water- 
less, though  of  immense  extent.  The  Beni  Sakk'r 
seem  to  have  a  chronic  feud  with  them. 

Zadam  was  not  much  perturbed  by  the  news.  At 
least,  he  had  still  the  advantage  over  his  foes,  for  in 
their  last  raid  the  Beni  Sakk'r  had  carried  off  two 
hundred  Anizeh  camels.  So  the  question  of  repi^isals 
would  probably  be  deferred  till  the  great  tribal  con- 
ference at  the  end  of  the  lambing  season,  next  month. 
Zadam,  however,  went  off  for  two  or  three  days,  to 
consult  his  father  and  brothers  how  best  to  maintain 
the  dignity  of  the  tribe,  leaving  Sahan  and  the  victim 
of  the  Anizeh  foray  to  be  our  guides  in  excursions. 
The  latter  we  found  to  be  quite  a  character.  He  was 
a  celebrated  ibex-hunter,  and  on  that  account  was  re- 
tained for  the  rest  of  our  time  in  the  country.  His 
pantomimic  description  of  the  incidents  of  hunting  the 
"  Bedoon "  (ibex)  was  marvelous.  With  his  wild, 
rolling  eyes,  and  a  sword-blade  to  represent  his  gun, 
he  went  through  the  whole  scene  of  detecting,  follow- 
ing, stalking  the  ibex,  till  at  length,  sprawling  on  his 
stomach,  his  eyes  flashed  fire  as  he  aimed  the  fatal 


HONESTY   OF   THE    PEOPLE.  207 

shot.  The  acting  was  perfect,  and  not  least  his  si- 
lencing an  imaginary  loquacious  brother-hunter. 

We  had  a  satisfactory  test  of  the  honesty  of  our 
people,  and  especially  of  our  Christian  servant,  Ha- 
beeb,  in  the  state  of  our  supplies  from  Jerusalem. 
They  arrived,  after  a  four  days'  journey,  without  a 
package  opened.  The  only  levy  on  our  stores  had 
been  four  bottles  of  raki  by  the  Turkish  officers, 
whom  our  convoy  had  met  still  encamped  in  the 
Wady  Na'ur,  waiting  for  orders  from  Damascus. 
They  had  merely  asked  for  some  spirits,  in  return  for 
the  hospitality  they  had  shown  us.  As  Habeeb  apol- 
ogetically remarked,  "  They  asked  till  my  face  was 
ashamed,  and  I  gave."  It  speaks,  indeed,  well  for  the 
discipline  and  good  behavior  of  Turkish  troops  (in- 
cluding, be  it  remembered,  two  squadrons  of  Bashi- 
Bazouks)  that  a  party  of  unarmed  muleteers,  without 
a  European  with  them,  should  have  passed  the  night 
alone  by  their  camp,  not  only  without  the  slightest 
attempt  at  pilfering,  but  without  being  even  asked  to 
surrender  any  portion  of  their  stores  to  those  who, 
in  their  distant  march,  suddenly  undertaken,  must, 
indeed,  have  been  ill  supplied  with  the  little  comforts 
so  temptingly  brought  within  their  reach.  We  were 
only  grieved  that  our  honest  men  had  not  more  gen- 
erously ventured  to  offer  a  share  of  their  masters'  pro- 
visions to  those  who  were  in  the  field  solely  on  our 
account. 

Nothing  in  the  convoy  was  so  welcome  as  the  sack 
of  brown    bread.     The   cravinpr    for    lio;ht   wheaten 


208  THE    LAND   OF    MOAB. 

bread  can  only  be  understood  by  those  who,  like  us, 
have  had  a  daily  diet  of  Arab  flat  barley  dampers  for 
three  weeks. 

We  were  struck  by  the  sagacity  which  all  the  wild 
animals  showed  in  the  matter  of  fire-arms,  little  fa- 
miliar as  they  can  be  with  them  here.  As  it  was 
Sunday,  we  strolled  or  sat  down  among  the  ruins, 
without  our  fowling-pieces,  and  were,  consequcntl}^ 
objects  of  indifference.  A  fine  fox  sat  and  looked  at 
us  a  dozen  times  among  the  stone  -  heaps,  and  just 
walked  away  as  we  approached,  keeping  almost  with- 
in gun-shot  all  the  afternoon.  He  is  smaller  than  the 
English  fox,  with  a  grayish  back,  black  breast,  and 
very  large  bushy  tail.  This  is  probably  the  Canis 
r«n>^f/?«sof  Riippell,  though  it  seemed  to  resemble  in 
its  coloration  Canis  melanogaster  of  the  Italian  penin- 
sula. We  frequently  saw  the  same  species  in  many 
different  ruins.  The  Sakk'r  falcon  sat  calmly  on  his 
favorite  perch,  and  allowed  us  carefully  to  reconnoitre 
him  on  Sunday,  while  the  eagle-owls,  sand -grouse, 
and  partridge  showed  a  similar  contempt  for  unarm- 
ed Europeans. 

Much  as  our  refusal  to  supply  powder  and  shot 
on  Sunday  disconcerted  our  young  sheik,  Sahan,  we 
found  the  greatest  advantage  in  enforcing  Sunday  ob- 
servance on  all  our  cavalcade  ;  not  merely  in  the 
value  of  the  regular  physical  rest  for  the  horses,  but 
in  the  moral  influence  over  the  Mohammedans,  who 
always  understand  and  respect  the  consistent  observ- 
ance of  Christian  ordinances.     Rigid  in  their  venera- 


CHKISTIAN   INCONSISTENCY.  209 

tion  for  their  own  religious  institutions,  tbey  despise 
those  who  neglect  theirs;  and  little  do  many  En- 
glishmen know  the  contemptuous  criticisms  to  which 
they  are  subjected  by  their  attendants  for  their 
thoughtless  requirement  of  unnecessary  service  on 
tlie  day  the  Moslems  know  very  well  we  hold  to  be 
"  hallowed." 


210  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

The  Palace  of  Mashiia. — Ride  from  Ziza.— Limestone  Knolls  rising 
above  the  Plain. — Their  geological  Origin. — Gradual  Formation  of 
the  Table-land. — Hadj  Road. — Palace  suddenly  in  Sight. — First 
Impressions. — Description  of  the  Palace. — Outer  Wall. — Bastions. 
— Gorgeous  Fa9ade.  —  Octagonal  Bastions. — Gate-way. ^Delinea- 
tions of  Animals  and  Birds. — Inner  Area. — Inhabited  Portion. — Its 
Plan. — Rich  Gate-way. — Corinthian  Capitals. — Arch  overthrown 
by  Earthquake. — Long  Inscriptions. — Nabathsean  or  Pelvic? — Pe- . 
culiar  Bricks. — Large  open  Hall. — Vaulted  Roof.  —  Inner  Door- 
way.— Peculiar  Capitals. —  Large  inner  domed  Hall  with  alcoved 
Recesses. — Inner  Chambers. — Construction  of  the  outer  Wall. — 
Hollow  Bastion. — The  Palace  never  finished. — The  Builders  inter- 
rupted.— No  local  Tradition  of  its  Origin. — Probably  Chosroes  II., 
of  Persia,  its  Builder,  a.d.  614. —  Campaign  of  Chosroes. —  Con- 
quest of  Syria. — Capture  of  Jerusalem. — Sudden  reverse. — Advance 
of  Heraclius,  a.d.  624. — The  whole  East  reconquered  by  Rome. 
A.D.  632. — IiTuption  of  the  Saracens. — Final  Devastation  of  the 
CountiT. — Its  Disappearance  from  History. — Sassanian  Origin  of 
tlie  Palace  confirmed  by  its  Architecture. — ]\Ir.  Fergusson's  Opin- 
ion.— El  Ah'la. 

Not  many  ruins  could  be  descried  from  Ziza  east- 
ward ;  for  the  low  limestone  range,  which  bounds 
the  eastern  limits  of  the  plains  of  Moab,  rises  about 
twelve  miles  off.  To  the  north  the  traces  of  former 
population  were  numerous.  One  pile,  apparently  a 
khan,  we  could  distinctly  make  out  with  our  glasses. 
Zadani  had  told  us  that  it  stood  beyond  the  great 
hadj  road,  and  was,  he  believed,  a  ruined  khan,  built 


RIDE   FROM   ZIZA.  211 

by  Saladin  (to  whom  every  thing  great,  and  not  clear- 
ly Christian  or  Roman,  is  here  referred),  but  that  it 
contained  nothing  particular,  and  was  just  like  Khan 
Zebib,  or  any  other  isolated  ruin  we  had  seen.  It 
was  known  to  the  Arabs  merely  by  the  name  of 
"Um  Shita,"  or  rather  "Mashita" — the  former  signi- 
fying "mother  of  rain  or  winter;"  the  latter,  which 
is  doubtless  the  true  rendering,  being  simply  "  winter- 
quarters  "  (Uiiuo). 

Though  assured  that  we  should  not  be  repaid  for 
our  labor,  we  had  no  intention  of  leaving  any  ruin 
unvisited ;  and  fortunate  were  we  that  we  trusted  not 
to  Arab  notions  of  archaeology.  An  early  start  on 
the  morning  of  February  26  brought  us,  in  an  hour 
and  a  quarter,  after  a  smart  canter  and  occasional 
gallop  over  the  grassy  plain,  to  the  front  of  the  ruin, 
just  after  crossing  the  hadj  road,  which,  with  its 
countless  furrowed  tracks,  presents  exactly  the  same 
characteristics  as  at  Khan  Zebib,  farther  south. 

The  ride  was  diversified  by  the  starting  of  two 
herds  of  gazelle,  and  of  the  desert  fox  {Cams  nilo- 
tiais),  and  afforded  a  good  opportunity  of  noticing  the 
mode  of  deposition  of  the  rich  soil  of  the  uplands  of 
Moab.  The  peculiar  phenomenon  of  the  many  knolls 
of  limestone  rock  rising  out  of  the  soft,  level  plain  of 
red  earth  may  be  easily  explained,  when  we  watch 
the  action  of  the  sudden  showers  on  the  furrowed 
sides  of  the  eastern  range,  and  the  sweep  of  sediment 
which  comes  down  with  the  floods,  and  deposits  a 
fine  top-dressing  on  the  plains. 


212  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

Originally  the  whole  of  the  highlands  must  have 
been  simply  a  wide  terrace,  about  thirty-five  miles 
in  breadth,  rugged  and  uneven,  between  this  eastern 
range  and  the  crest  of  the  western  mountains  of 
Moab.  Water  action  has,  in  course  of  ages,  carried 
down  the  debris,  and  deposited  it  in  the  inequalities 
of  the  surface,  until  it  has  at  length  left  only  the 
innumerable  knolls  and  ridges  on  which  all  the  old 
cities  stand.  Had  the  country  been  without  these 
excrescences  of  rock,  affording  unlimited  facilities  for 
cistern  excavation,  and  for  the  storing  of  water  sup- 
plies, it  is  utterly  impossible  that  it  could  ever  have 
sustained,  as  it  has  done,  a  vast  resident  and  agricul- 
tural population.  With  them,  there  is  nothing  requi- 
site beyond  a  settled  government  and  the  reparation 
of  the  old  cisterns  and  conduits  to  enable  a  popula- 
tion as  dense  as  of  old  to  resume  the  occupation  of 
these  alluvial  plains. 

Suddenly  drawing  rein  in  front  of  Mashita,  after 
a  headlong  dash  at  a  herd  of  gazelle  across  the  hadj 
road,  we  were  astonished  at  the  unexpected  magnifi- 
cence of  the  ruins,  unknown  to  history,  and  unnamed 
in  the  maps.  It  has  evidently  been  a  palace  of  some 
ancient  prince.  There  is  no  trace  of  any  town  or 
buildings  round  it.  The  only  remains  outside  the 
walls  are  those  of  a  deep  well  near  the  south-west 
corner.  It  must  have  stood  out  on  the  waste  in  soli- 
tary grandeur,  a  marvelous  example  of  the  sumptu- 
ousness  and  selfishness  of  ancient  princes. 

We  were  at  first  perfectly  bewildered  by  the  ya- 


A   PALACE   IN   THE    WASTE. 


218 


riety  and  magnificence  of  the  architectural  decora- 
tions. The  richness  of  the  arabesque  carvings,  and 
their  perfect  preservation,  is  not  equaled  even  by 
those  of  the  Alhambra,  though  in  somewhat  the  same 
style.  The  whole  consists  of  a  large  square  quadran- 
gle, facing  due  north  and  south,  170  yards  in  extent 


NO.  20. 


INTERIOR   OF   RUINED    l'.\LACE. 


on  each  face,  with  round  bastions  at  each  angle,  and 
five  others,  semicircular,  between  them,  on  the  east, 
north,  and  west  faces,  all,  like  the  wall,  built  of  fine- 
ly-dressed hard  stone. 

But  it  is  on  the  south  face  that  the  resources  of 


214 


THE   LAND    OF    MOAB. 


Eastern  art  have  been  most  lavishly  expended.  There 
are  here  six  bastions,  besides  the  corner  ones ;  for  the 
fretted  front,  which  extends  for  fifty-two  yards  in  the 
centre  of  the  face,  has  a  bold  octagonal  bastion  on  ei- 
ther side  of  the  gate- way.  This  gate-way  is  the  only 
entrance  to  the  palace;  and  on  either  side  is  the  most 


NO.  21 


l>  VIL  W  \\    <>1     1   \]    \i   L 


splendid  fa9ade  imaginable,  of  which  our  photographs 
alone  can  convey  a  correct  idea.  The  wall  is  eight- 
een feet  high,  and  covered  with  the  most  elaborate 
and  beautiful  carving,  nearly  intact,  and  hardly  in- 
jured either  by  time  or  man. 

On  the  flat  wall  itself  runs  a  large  pattern,  like  a 


ANIMALS   AND   BIRDS. 


215 


continued  W,  with  a  large  rose  boss  in  each  aiigle. 
These  stand  out  boldly  from  the  plane  of  the  wall. 
Every  inch  of  their  surface,  and  all  the  interstices,  are 
carved  with  fretted  work  representing  animals,  fruit; 
and  foliage,  in  endless  variety.  The  birds  and  beasts 
are  fully  represented,  and  not,  as  in  Arab  sculpture, 
melting  into  fruit   or  flowers,  but  correctly  drawn. 


()(  TA(;()N    TOWER. 


There  are  upward  of  fifty  animals,  in  all  sorts  of  atti- 
tudes, but  generally  drinking  together  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  same  vase — lions,  winged  lions,  buffaloes, 
gazelle,  panthers,  lynx,  men ;  in  one  case  a  man  with 
a  basket  of  fruit,  in  another  a  man's  head  with  a  dog 
below  ;  peacocks,  partridges,  parrots,  and  other  birds. 


216 


THE   LAND    OF   MOAB. 


More  than  fifty  figures  stand  in  line,  with  vases,  on 
the  west  side  of  the  gate- way.  All  are  inclosed  in 
cornices  and  moldings  of  conventional  patterns,  and 
the  interstices  filled  in  with  very  beautiful  adaptations 
of  leaves. 

The  side  east  of  the  gate-way  is  without  animal  fig- 


No.  33. 


FALLEN    ARCH. 


ures,  excepting  two  on  the  panel  next  the  gate.  The 
fa9ade  is  even  more  delicately  sculptured  than  the 
other  side,  but  with  fruits  and  flowers  only,  festoons 
of  vine-leaves  and  grapes  predominating. 

On  entering  the  gate-way,  the  square  inside  seems 


GATE-WAY   AND   ARCHES.  217 

to  have  been  divided  into  three  parallelograms,  the 
side  ones  forty-six,  and  the  centre  sixty-six  yards  in 
width.  The  two  side  parallelograms  extend  along 
the  whole  length  of  the  inclosure.  The  centre  one 
has  been  divided  into  three  sections.  The  first  sec- 
tion is  covered  with  the  foundations  of  numerous 
chambers,  well  arranged  on  either  side,  seventeen  or 
eighteen  in  number,  but  none  of  the  walls  rising  much 
above  the  ground.  They  have  probably  been  intend- 
ed as  guard-rooms  for  the  soldiers.  The  next  section 
has  contained  no  buildings,  but  has  had  a  large  fount- 
ain on  the  west  side ;  and  there  are  uncertain  traces 
of  another  to  correspond,  on  the  opposite  side. 

The  northern  and  innermost  block  of  the  central 
parallelogram  is  entirely  occupied  by  the  residence 
itself.  The  entrance  presents  a  fii§ade  divided  into 
three  equal  parts,  the  centre  composed  of  a  wide  cen- 
tral gate-way  and  two  side  doors.  These  have  con- 
sisted of  three  archways  supported  by  massive  col- 
umns of  white,  hard  stone,  almost  marble,  surmount- 
ed by  debased  Corinthian  capitals.  The  voussoirs  of 
the  arches  have  all  fallen  to  the  ground,  but  in  per- 
fect order,  evidently  overthrown  by  an  earthquake, 
which  has  shivered  the  columns,  as  shown  in  the  pho- 
tograph. These  arches  have  been  semicircular,  very 
richly  fluted,  and  not  unlike  our  own  late  Norman 
work.  The  rest  of  this  fa9ade,  above  the  three  low- 
er courses,  is  all  of  brick,  excepting  the  pillars  and 
pilasters,  which,  as  well  as  the  foundation,  are  of 
stone. 

15 


218  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

These  courses  are  finely  squared  and  dressed,  and 
covered  with  long  lines  of  inscriptions  in  a  character 
quite  undecipherable  by  us,  but  still  very  distinct  and 
unmutilated,  excepting  that,  in  many  places,  it  has 
been  disfigured  by  innumerable  tribe-marks  cut  over 
and  between  the  lines  of  the  original  inscription. 
These  later  carvings,  however,  are  all  very  easily  dis- 
tinguishable from  the  original  record,  and  so  appear 
in  a  photograph,  from  the  much  lighter  color  of  the 
incisions.  Unfortunately,  all  our  photographs  of  the 
inscriptions,  excepting  one  fragment,  have  failed,  from 
an  accident  before  they  were  developed,  and  the  si- 
lent story  is  left  for  some  future  explorer  to  decipher. 
The  characters  seemed  to  me  to  differ  from  the  ordi- 
nary Nabatheean,  and,  so  far  as  memory  can  be  trust- 
ed, appear  like  several  specimens  of  the  Pelvic  char- 
acter, kindly  shown  me  by  Mr,  Fergusson. 

The  bricks,  of  which,  above  these  three  courses,  the 
whole  of  the  residential  portion  of  the  palace  is  con- 
structed, differ  from  any  we  met  with  before  or  since ; 
nor  have  I  ever  found  bricks  of  a  like  shape  and  pat- 
tern elsewhere,  though  Mr.  Tyrwhitt  Drake  tells  me 
that,  when  in  company  with  Captain  Burton,  he  found 
similar  tiles  employed  in  a  ruined  palace  north-east 
of  Damascus.  These  tiles  are  square  and  flat,  of  the 
shape  of  Eoman  tiles,  but  much  thinner  and  larger, 
about  three  inches  thick  and  perhaps  eighteen  inches 
square.  The  three  courses  of  stone  continue,  covered 
with  inscriptions,  all  round  the  building  ;  but  within, 
the  whole  superstructure  is  of  brick,  excepting  the 


NO.  34. 


0  50  100 


200 


PLAN   OF  PALACE,  mISHITA. 


300 


CHAMBERS  OF  THE   PALACE.  219 

pilasters  and  cornices,  with  the  large  stones  in  the 
angles,  from  which  the  vaulting  of  the  roof  springs. 

The  triple  front  gate-way  leads  into  a  large  hall— 
which,  I  think,  has  never  been  roofed.  On  either 
side  are  chambers,  with  lofty  vaulted  brick  roofs  still 
remaining,  though  decayed  in  places.  The  access  to 
these  chambers  is  not  from  the  hall  itself,  but  by  a 
circuitous  route,  through  door-ways  at  the  farther  ex- 
tremity of  the  hall,  right  and  left,  which  opens  by 
arched  door-ways  into  various  other  chambers,  from 
which  there  is  access  to  these. 

In  front  of  the  hall  is  a  wide  door-way,  with  very 
massive  pilasters  of  finely-dressed  stone.  The  capi- 
tals of  these  are  very  elaborately  carved,  as  shown  in 
the  photograph,  and  certainly  of  no  Greek  order  of 
architecture,  but  revealing  rather  Persian  or  Egyp- 
tian ornamentation.  There  has  been  no  arch  above 
them,  for  they  simply  form  the  door -way  into  the 
grand  chamber  of  the  palace,  which  has  had  a  massive 
domed  roof  of  brick-work. 

The  chamber  is  about  fifty  feet  square  in  its  ex- 
treme length  and  breadth ;  but  its  farther  end  and 
two  sides  form  three  alcoved  apsidal  recesses,  the  an- 
gles being  filled  in  with  solid  brick-work,  the  princi- 
pal support  of  the  great  crypt-like  roofs  which  spring 
from  them.  On  the  right  and  left  of  the  farther  ap- 
sidal recess  are  arched  door-ways  opening  into  cham- 
bers behind.  One  of  these  has  no  other  exit ;  the 
others  open  into  a  still  farther  chamber,  directly  at 
the  back  of  the  great  chamber. 


220  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

The  dome  being  broken  through  in  many  places, 
enabled  us  to  see  very  clearly  the  method  of  con- 
struction. The  spring  of  the  vaulting  of  all  the 
rooms  is  from  a  row  of  bricks,  slightly  projecting,  and 
forming  a  sort  of  plinth,  the  projection  being  contin- 
ued in  the  vaulting.  In  the  arches  of  the  door-ways 
this  projection  gives  them  the  appearance  of  Saracen- 
ic or  horseshoe  arches,  though  very  nearly  semicir- 
cular. The  first  row  on  the  face  of  the  arch  consists 
of  the  square  bricks  which  prevail  in  other  parts  ;  the 
next,  of  the  thin  rectangular  tiles  before  described,  set 
lengthways ;  then  a  row  of  the  same  thin  tiles  set 
endways;  after  which  comes  the  ordinary  walling. 
The  two  rows  of  bricks  placed  faceways  have  been 
cemented ;  but  there  are  only  faint  traces  of  fine  plas- 
tering elsewhere.  The  mortar  is  very  strong,  and, 
between  the  bricks  of  the  arches,  forms  conspicuous 
broad  white  bands. 

With  the  exception  of  the  three  chambers  behind 
the  central  large  room,  all  the  other  chambers,  eleven 
of  them  on  either  side,  have  but  a  single  access  into 
the  farther  angle  of  the  great  hall.  Thus,  from  any 
of  the  inner  chambers,  it  was  necessary,  as  shown  on 
the  plan,  to  pass  through  three  others  before  reaching 
the  open  court-yard. 

Turning  now  to  the  outer  wall  of  the  whole  inclos- 
ure,  we  found  the  circumference  perfect  all  round, 
varying  from  five  to  twenty  feet  in  height.  It  is  very 
carefully  built  of  beautifully  squared  stones,  each  of 
the  same  size,  and  placed  alternately  lengthways  and 


THE   BUILDING   UNFINISHED.  221 

across,  so  as  to  bind  the  whole  in  one  solid  mass.  The 
inside  and  outside  faces  are  dressed  with  equal  exact- 
ness. In  the  inclosing  wall  are  cut,  at  irregular  in- 
tervals, numerous  small  apertures  sloping  very  sharp- 
ly downward.  They  are  not  defensive  loop-holes,  for 
they  come  out  very  near  the  ground,  and  do  not  ex- 
pand as  they  descend,  neither  can  any  view  be  ob- 
tained through  them,  nor  archery  used.  Though  no 
traces  of  buildings  can  be  observed  in  this  part  of  the 
enceinte,  yet  where  these  apertures  are  made  are  also 
large  stones  projecting  from  the  wall,  apparently  for 
the  purpose  of  supporting  a  flooring  which  has  never 
been  laid  down. 

One  thing  struck  us  much — the  very  small  amount 
of  debris  strewn  about.  Except  where  the  brick- 
work has  become  dilapidated,  or  the  walls  have  been 
overthrown  (evidently,  as  shown  by  the  cracks,  the 
effects  of  earthquake),  the  appearance  of  the  stones  is 
rather  that  of  unused  material  than  of  crumbling  ruin. 
The  stone  is  so  hard,  that  it  is  very  little  weathered ; 
and  from  the  absence  of  ruin,  it  seems  impossible  that 
the  bastions  can  have  been  much  higher  than  twenty 
feet.  They  are  all  of  them  solid,  with  one  singular 
exception.  This  was  the  bastion  at  the  north-west 
angle  of  the  brick  palace,  which  is  hollow,  with  an  ac- 
cess from  the  outer  square,  and  has  a  curious  little 
hollow  excrescence  attached,  as  if  for  a  look-out  into 
the  country  behind. 

The  state  of  the  external  sculptured  fa9ade  proves 
that  it  was  never  finished.     As  may  be  seen  in  the 


222  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

photographs,  several  of  the  stones  have  their  sculp- 
tures incomplete.  The  masonry  has  been  put  into  its 
place  and  then  carved  in  situ.  In  the  portion  east- 
ward several  of  the  rose  bosses  are  finished,  and  stand 
out  above  the  walling,  which  has  never  been  carried 
so  high.  We  searched  carefully,  but  in  vain,  for  any 
sculptured  fragments  among  the  debris,  and  could 
only  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  builders  had 
been  suddenly  interrupted,  and  had  left  unfinished  the 
decorative  part  of  their  plan. 

Of  tradition  the  Arabs  have  absolutely  none,  though 
they  have  on  many  other  ruins — for  instance,  on  the 
tower  of  Um  Easas,  The  name  Mashita  conveys  no 
idea,  except  that  it  is  often  used  as  "  winter-quarters" 
for  the  flocks  and  herds.  Of  this  there  was  abundant 
evidence  in  traces  left  by  the  heaped  ordure  of  sheep 
and  goats  in  all  the  vaulted  chambers.  We  may  fair- 
ly presume  that,  whoever  were  the  builders,  they  had 
left  no  permanent  impression  behind  them  among  the 
tales  and  traditions  which  linger  so  tenaciously  among 
the  Arab  tribes,  and  go  back  to  the  Jewish  and  Eo- 
man  periods. 

The  palace  is  no  relic  of  Saladin  or  the  Caliphs, 
else  it  would  be  recognized  as  such  by  the  Bedouin, 
who  are  eager  enough  to  ascribe  every  thing  they  can 
to  their  early  heroes.  Besides,  the  existence  of  the 
human  and  animal  figures  proves  its  ante-Moslem  ori- 
gin. But  there  is  no  trace  of  Christian  work;  and  in 
the  Eoman  times  we  can  not  conceive  of  so  sumptu- 
ous and  truly  Oriental  a  palace  being  erected  in  a 


INVASION   OF   CHOSROES.  223 

lonely  -wilderness,  away  from  cities,  and  from  any 
military  road.  The  character,  also,  of  the  work,  and 
the  sculpture,  point  to  a  late  date.  Many  of  the  de- 
tails are  decidedly  Byzantine  in  type ;  and  in  the  ex- 
uberant decoration  we  have  the  model  of  that  em- 
ployed in  the  Saracenic  palaces,  as  in  the  Alhambra. 
We  found  no  other  ruin  in  the  whole  country  which 
bore  the  slightest  resemblance  to  Mashita,  either  in 
situation,  design,  or  execution. 

The  whole  question  continued  to  be  an  insoluble 
mystery  to  us  while  we  remained  in  the  country;  and 
it  was  only  on  our  return  that  Mr.  Fergusson  prompt- 
ly and  kindly  solved  the  problem  for  us,  and  gave  the 
key  to  it,  referring  it  to  the  Sassanian  dynasty  of  Per- 
sian kings,  and  to  the  history  of  Chosroes  II.,  and  fix- 
ing the  date  to  be  a.d.  614. 

The  story  of  the  conquests  and  the  defeat  of  Chos- 
roes, the  greatest  prince  of  the  Sassanian  dynasty,  is, 
perhaps,  a  nearer  parallel  to  the  conquests  and  over- 
throw of  the  great  Napoleon  than  any  other  event  in 
history,* 

Under  the  miserable  reign  of  the  Emperor  Phocas, 
of  infamous  memory,  Chosroes,  with  the  Persian  ar- 
mies, overran,  a.d.  611,  the  whole  of  Northern  Syria 
and  Asia  Minor.  He  then  advanced  to  Damascus, 
and,  after  reposing  his  troops  in  that  paradise  for  a 
season,  invaded  and  reduced  Galilee,  and  the  region 
beyond  Jordan,  which  offered  him  a  stout  resistance, 

*  Gibbon,  chap.  xlvi. 


224  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

and  delayed  for  a  time  the  siege  of  Jerusalem,  which 
was  finally  taken  by  assault  a.d.  614.  "The  sep- 
ulchre of  Christ  and  the  stately  churches  of  Helena 
and  Constantine  were  consumed,  or  at  least  damaged, 
by  the  flames;  the  devout  offerings  of  three  hundred 
years  were  rifled  in  one  sacrilegious  day ;  the  patri- 
arch Zachariah  and  the  true  Cross  were  transported 
into  Persia;  and  the  massacre  of  90,000  Christians  is 
imputed  to  the  Jews  and  Arabs,  who  swelled  the  dis- 
order of  the  Persian  march." 

Egypt  itself,  the  only  province  "  which  had  been 
exempt  since  the  time  of  Diocletian  from  foreign  and 
domestic  war,  was  again  subdued  by  the  successors  of 
Gyrus.  Pelusium,  the  key  of  that  impervious  coun- 
try, was  surprised  by  the  cavalry  of  the  Persians." 

His  western  trophy  was  erected,  not  on  the  walls 
of  "Carthage,  but  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tripoli; 
the  Greek  colonies  of  Cyrene  were  finally  extirpated ; 
and  the  conqueror,  treading  in  the  footsteps  of  Alex- 
ander, returned  in  triumph  through  the  sand  of  the 
Libyan  desert."  "From  the  long-disputed  banks  of 
the  Tigris  and  Euphrates  the  reign  of  the  grandson 
of  Nurshivan  was  suddenly  extended  to  the  Helles- 
pont and  the  Nile,  the  ancient  limits  of  the  Persian 
monarchy." 

We  read  that,  "  conscious  of  this  fear  and  hatred, 
the  Persian  conqueror  governed  his  new  subjects  with 
an  iron  sceptre ;  and,  as  if  he  suspected  the  stability 
of  his  dominion,  he  exhausted  their  wealth  by  exor- 
bitant tributes  and  licentious  rapine ;  despoiled  or  de- 


ADVANCE    OF   HERACLIUS.  225 

molislied  the  temples  of  the  East;  and  transported  to 
his  hereditary  realms  the  gold,  the  silver,  the  precious 
marbles,  the  arts  and  the  artists,  of  the  Asiatic  cities," 
"He  enjoyed  with  ostentation  the  fruits  of  victory, 
and  frequently  retired  from  the  hardships  of  war  to 
the  luxury  of  the  palace."  The  details  of  his  more 
than  Oriental  pageantry,  carefully  collected  by  Gib- 
bon from  contemporary  writers,  almost  pass  belief; 
960  elephants,  20,000  camels,  6000  horses,  as  many 
guards,  and  3000  concubines,  to  say  nothing  of  the 
gathered  piles  of  precious  metals,  give  some  idea  of 
his  lavish  magnificence. 

It  was  during  this  transient  period  of  splendor  that 
the  then  obscure  prophet  of  Arabia  wrote  a  letter 
to  the  great  king,  inviting  him  to  acknowledge  Am, 
Mohammed,  as  the  prophet  of  God.  Chosroes  scorn- 
fully tore  the  letter,  little  forecasting  how  soon  the 
Arabian  would  be  master  of  the  East.  But  this  was 
not  to  be  in  his  time.  Yet  he  only  held  together  his 
vast  empire  for  fourteen  years. 

In  A.D.  623  the  emperor  Heraclius,  with  incredible 
daring,  commenced  the  reconquest  of  the  East ;  and 
never,  in  her  grandest  days  of  power,  did  the  eagle 
of  Eome  swoop  more  magnificently  than  in  its  dying 
throes,  when  in  the  space  of  three  years  Heraclius 
penetrated  to  the  very  heart  of  Persia,  compelled 
Chosroes  to  return  from  a  distant  expedition,  to  re- 
call his  troops  from  Egypt,  Syria,  and  Asia  Minor, 
captured  Ispahan  and  Salban,  and  in  them  the  flower 
of  the  Persian  nobility  and  youth. 


226  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

In  vain  Chosroes  attempted  to  strike  a  retaliatory 
blow  at  Constantinople.  Baffled  there,  he  returned 
to  meet  the  triumphant  Heraclius  in  his  third  expe- 
dition, at  Mosul,  over  the  ruins  of  Nineveh,  where  on 
the  1st  December,  a.d.  627,  the  Eomans  were  com- 
pletely victorious,  and  Chosroes  died  miserably,  a  de- 
posed fugitive,  in  a  dungeon,  by  the  hand,  or  the  com- 
mand, of  his  own  son.  Two  years  afterward  Heracli- 
us visited  Jerusalem,  and  celebrated  his  triumph  ;  and 
all  seemed  fair  and  secure  in  the  Eastern  empire,  with 
every  rival  not  only  defeated,  but  utterly  crushed,  on 
its  frontiers. 

It  was  but  a  short-lived  respite.  In  a.d.  632  the 
hordes  of  Saracen  horsemen  under  the  command  of 
Abou  Obeidah  and  Caled  poured  into  the  Roman 
province  of  Arabia,  which  embraced  Idumea,  Moab, 
and  all  the  country  east  of  Jordan.  They  speedily 
overran  it,  slaughtered  its  inhabitants,  and  captured 
the  fortress  of  Bozrah,  the  stronghold  of  the  country, 
five  days'  march  north  of  the  Arnon.  Up  to  the 
time  of  their  arrival  at  that  stronghold,  we  are  told, 
they  met  with  no  resistance;  and,  indeed,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  none  of  the  towns  of  the  plains  of  Moab 
could,  from  their  position,  have  sustained  for  more 
than  a  day  the  onslaught  of  these  warriors. 

From  that  hour  the  whole  of  this  region  disappears 
altogether  from  the  page  of  history.  Retired  from  the 
route  of  armies,  it  has  been  without  fortress,  town,  or 
inhabitants,  to  invite  a  conqueror ;  inaccessible  to  or- 
dinary troops  from  the  west,  it  has  remained  without 


BUILDERS  THE  REAL  DESTROYERS.     227 

the  record  of  one  single  event  on  its  soil,  and  its  east- 
ern plains  untrodden  by  European  foot  till  yesterday. 

Too  proud  to  cultivate  —  happily,  too  careless  to 
destroy — the  incurious  Bedouin  has  roamed  over  its 
rich  pasture-lands,  never  tempted  to  loosen  a  stone, 
for  he  needs  no  building  materials,  and  content  if  the 
old  cisterns  and  arches  afford  a  shelter  in  winter  for 
his  flocks. 

In  every  land  it  has  been  the  builders,  rather  than 
the  conquerors,  who  have  obliterated  the  remains  of 
antiquity.  The  abbeys  of  England  have  been  the 
quarries  for  manor-houses;  the  Coliseum  has  sup- 
plied the  materials  for  Eoman  palaces ;  the  stones  of 
many  a  Syrian  temple  have  found  their  place,  first,  in 
a  Christian  church,  and  finally  in  a  Moslem  mosque. 
But  the  Bedouin  needs  no  mosque ;  and  thus,  since 
the  first  fury  of  the  victors  spent  itself,  time  has  been 
aided  by  earthquakes  alone,  and  not  by  man,  in  the 
decay  of  the  cities  of  Roman  Arabia.  Thus  Mashita 
has  remained  intact. 

The  resume  of  the  history  of  Chosroes  seems  to 
solve  every  difficulty  about  the  deserted  palace,  even 
apart  from  the  architectural  features  which  point  to 
its  chronology.  Chosroes  held  this  country  for  only 
fourteen  years  at  the  utmost.  Such  a  mere  passing 
wave  of  desolating  conquest  would  not  be  likely  to 
leave  any  clear  or  distinct  traditions  to  linger  through 
many  generations.  The  building  is  certainly  neither 
Jewish,  Greek,  Roman,  nor  Saracen,  either  in  its  plan 
or  its  details.     It  can  only,  therefore,  be  either  Per- 


228  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

sian  or  Arabian.  We  know  there  was  a  dynasty  of 
Christian  kings  in  Arabia  after  the  time  of  Constan- 
tine;  but  we  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  their 
power  extended  into  this  unquestioned  Koman  prov- 
ince ;  and  even  had  it  done  so,  it  is  difficult  to  con- 
ceive why  an  indigenous  dynasty  should  ever  have 
selected  such  a  situation  for  a  palace.  Mr.  Fergusson 
has  pointed  out  that  there  are  details  in  the  work- 
manship which  can  scarcely  be  older  than  the  time 
of  Justinian  ;  and  at  that  period  the  Arabian  kings 
certainly  held  no  sway  so  near  the  Jordan. 

But  Chosroes  is  celebrated  for  the  sumptuous  pal- 
aces which  he  caused  to  be  erected  wherever  he  went; 
and  this  palace  is  constructed  very  much  on  the  same 
ground-plan  as  his  other  edifices,  although  the  details 
of  the  workmanship  are  very  different. 

He  is  recorded,  after  wintering  in  Damascus,  to 
have  invaded  Egypt,  and  that  with  vast  swarms  of 
cavalry.  This  place  would  lie  in  his  natural  road 
from  Damascus  to  the  Kile,  one  quite  as  easy  for 
horsemen  as  the  more  westerly  route.  We  are  told 
that  he  carried  away  many  thousands  of  Greek  and 
Syrian  captives,  whom  he  employed  on  his  works. 
Some  of  these  he  may  have  employed  to  erect  here  a 
hunting-box,  for  his  sojourn  when  he  passed  this  way ; 
for  we  know  that  he  was  passionately  attached  to  the 
chase.  As  we  have  seen,  the  palace  has  been  sudden- 
ly abandoned,  before  it  could  be  completed.  This  is 
at  once  accounted  for,  if  Chosroes  be  its  builder,  by 
the  advance  of  Heraclius,  when  he  was  compelled  to 


MR.  FERGUSSON's   OPINION.  229 

recall  his  troops  from  Egypt  and  Syria,  and,  of  neces- 
sity, to  abandon  his  works.  The  Romans  held  the 
country  but  ten  years  longer,  and  a  solitary  building 
in  this  remote  corner  had  little  chance  at  that  time  to 
be  mentioned  by  any  contemporary  writer.  The  Sar- 
acens had  no  object  to  secure  in  either  destroying  or 
utilizing  a  defenseless,  solitary,  half-finished  pile. 

Mr.  Fergusson  has  pointed  out  several  architectural 
details  which  convince  him  that  there  is  internal  evi- 
dence of  the  palace  being  the  work  of  Chosroes.  He 
writes:  "The  capitals  of  the  outer  portals  of  the  brick 
palace  are  more  like  those  of  the  golden  gate-way  at 
Jerusalem  than  others  I  know,  and,  if  they  were  alone, 
might  be  as  old — viz.,  Constantine's  time.  But  the 
inner  ones  could  not  possibly  be  carved  before  Jus- 
tinian's time :  and  they  are  even  more  certainly  inte- 
gral. It  is  not  quite  impossible  that  the  outer  ones 
may  have  been  brought  from  some  of  Constantine's 
buildings  at  Jerusalem,  which  Chosroes  is  said  to  have 
destroyed.  But  this  theory  is  by  no  means  necessary 
for  the  date.  The  Corinthian  capital,  with  very  slight 
change,  lasted  down  to  the  tenth  century." 

A  Persian  architect  employing  Byzantine  workmen 
might  be  expected  to  produce  just  such  a  work  as 
this.  Many  of  the  details  of  the  sculptured  fa9ade 
much  resemble  fragments  of  late  Byzantine  work  at 
Constantinople;  and  it  was  from  this  that  the  Sara- 
cenic style  of  decoration  was  developed. 

Mashita,  as  well  as  Ziza,  seems  to  have  been  point- 
ed out  from  a  great  distance  to  Captain  Warren  ("Ex- 


230  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

pedition  East  of  Jordan,  Palestine  Exploration  Fund," 
vol.  i.,  p.  293),  and  we  could  see  several  known  points 
from  its  walls  —  viz.,  Ziza,  Jebel  Shihan,  Jebel  Sa- 
raik  (whence  Captain  Warren  saw  it),  Herri,  and  Jelul. 
The  only  ruin  to  the  eastward  was  a  large  fort  or 
town  about  ten  miles  off,  N.N.E.  (bearing  220°),  in 
the  hills,  looking  very  like  Um  Rasas,  at  the  foot  of 
an  opening  in  the  mountain  range,  and  called  by  the 
Arabs  Kirbet  el  Ah'la,  We  were  assured  there  were 
no  other  ruins  to  be  found  anywhere  to  the  eastward; 
and  certainly  the  bare,  verdureless  hills  held  out  no 
promise  of  discovery,  though  we  have  ever  since  re- 
gretted that  we  did  not  push  on  to  El  Ah'la. 


A   SECOND    DAY    AT   MASHITA.  231 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Second  Visit  to  Mashita.— Expedition  to  Kustul.— Imperial  Eagle.— 
Interesting  Character  of  the  Remains  of  Kustul.— Castellated  Tem- 
ple.—Corinthian  Pilasters. —Nabathffian  Inscriptions.— Larger  Cas- 
tle.— Vaulted  Chambers  and  massive  Bastions. — A  Greek  Altar  ex- 
humed. —Walls  for  collecting  Water.— Kustul-Castellum.—Thenib. 
— Rujum  Hamam.— Views  of  the  Belka.— Southward  Migration  of 
the  Beni  Sakk'r. — Move  Camp  toward  the  West. — Azabarah.— 
Jebel  Jelul.— Magnificent  Panorama.— Sufa.— Trained  Falcons.— 
Women  Water-drawers. —Arrival  at  our  camp.— Visit  from  Fendi 
y  Faiz.  —  Entertainment  of  the  great  Sheik.— Photographing  of 
the  Princes.— Escort  of  the  Hadj.— Parting  with  the  Sahan.— De- 
lay at  Habis.— Descent  of  the  Wady  Habis.— Junction  with  the 
Zerka  Ma'in.— Contrast  between  the  Highlands  of  Moab  and  the 
Mountains. 

February  27.— So  unexpected  and  interesting  had 
been  the  discovery  of  Mashita,  that  a  second  day  was 
not  grudged  for  its  more  accurate  exploration  and 
photographing,  especially  as  Buxton  found  that,  in 
the  excitement  occasioned  by  its  elaborate  carvings, 
he  had  taken  two  sets  of  photographs  on  the  same 
plates,  and,  after  toiling  at  developing  till  midnight, 
had  only  one  good  negative  to  show. 

But  time  was  precious,  and  accordingly,  attended 
by  our  old  lance-bearing  dervish,  Sherouan,  I  set  out 
alone  to  examine  the  rest  of  the  ruins  to  the  north 
of  us,  where  three  deserted  cities  could  be  made  out; 
and  so  to  finish  our  map  of  this  part  of  the  Belka  as 

16 


232  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

soon  as  possible,  while  the  rest  of  the  party  revisit- 
ed the  Persian  palace. 

We  all  began  to  feel  the  effects  of  the  climate,  and 
that  our  camp  was  not  in  a  spot  conducive  to  health. 
The  thermometer  at  24°  Fahr.  at  night,  a  lump  of 
solid  ice  in  our  basins  in  the  morning,  and  then  the 
scorching  heat  of  the  day  drawing  up  the  moisture, 
made  the  neighborhood  of  the  tank,  convenient  as  it 
was,  rather  a  fever-trap ;  and  premonitory  symptoms 
warned  us  to  move. 

Forty-five  minutes'  rather  quick  riding  due  north, 
across  a  grassy  plain,  with  scarcely  an  undulation, 
brought  us  to  the  first  ruins,  called  Kustul,  Game 
was  abundant  on  the  way  ;  and  it  was  curious  to  see 
flocks  of  mallard  and  pintail  feeding  among  the  stunt- 
ed scrub,  in  most  unlikely  ground  for  duck,  who,  how- 
ever, seem  able  to  accommodate  themselves  to  cir- 
cumstances. A  fine  imperial  eagle  sat  quietly  on  the 
carcass  of  a  kid  till  I  was  within  ten  yards  of  him, 
showing  his  white  shoulders  in  fine  contrast  with 
his  dark  plumage.  But  I  had  only  small  shot;  and 
though  successful  against  the  sand-grouse  which,  plov- 
er-like, kept  skimming  past  in  flocks  large  and  small, 
I  was  tantalized  by  fox,  wolf,  and  wild-cat— all  in 
turn  offering  an  easy  opportunity  for  a  rightly  pro- 
vided collector.  This  fox  of  the  plains  seems  to  be 
the  same  as  the  Egyptian.  In  the  evening  I  found 
that  Trotter,  riding  in  another  direction,  had  shot 
on  the  plain  a  duck  which  proved  to  be  a  hybrid 
between  mallard  and  pintail,  the  fac- simile   of  the 


A   CASTELLATED   TEMPLE. 


233 


SO  -  called  bimaculated   duck   of  "  Yarrell's   British 
Birds." 

Arrived  at  KustuI,  I  found  it  a  ruin  of  quite  dif- 
ferent character  from  any  we  had  previously  visited. 
There  is  the  ordinary  mass  of  ruins,  caves,  walls,  and 
arches  innumerable,  extending  over  the  west  side  of 


NO.  25 


EL    KU&TUL. 


the  hill ;  but  those  on  the  eastern  side  are  evidently 
later  accretions  on  a  much  earlier  and  more  careful- 
ly built  castle ;  or  rather  on  two  castles,  of  which  the 
northernmost  and  smaller  is  far  the  most  perfect.  It 
measures  thirty  yards  by  twenty,  and  has  a  large 


234  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

semicircular  bastion  at  the  north-west  corner,  sur- 
mounted by  a  balustrade  of  fluted  Corinthian  squared 
pilasters,  and  an  inner  staircase  leading  up  to  it,  still 
remaining.  Inside  its  south  wall  is  a  semicircular 
niche ;  and  two  capitals  of  pure  white  marble  are  ly- 
ing in  the  court-yard.  This  area  is  partially  filled  in 
with  crypts  of  coarser  and  evidently  later  masonry. 

The  building  would  seem  to  have  been  originally 
a  fortified  temple',  and  an  outwork  of  the  main  castle. 
This  stands  on  the  crest  of  the  hill,  immediately  to 
the  south  of  the  other,  and  is  eighty -four  yards  square. 
All  round  it  have  been  semicircular  bastions  of  solid 
masonry,  six  yards  in  diameter,  and  a  space  of  four- 
teen yards  between  each.  The  building  has  been  of 
two  stories  at  least ;  but  only  the  lower  story  now  re- 
mains, with  the  foundations,  and  a  few  arches  of  the 
rooms  of  the  upper  one.  The  chambers  have  run 
round  the  inside  wall  of  this  castle,  having  an  open 
area  in  the  centre,  in  which  two  columns  are  still 
standing.  The  crypt  roof  of  the  lower  chamber  re- 
mains, and  many  of  the  courses  have  Nabathsean  in- 
scriptions, marred,  as  usual,  by  tribe  marks. 

On  the  ground-floor  have  been  three  sets  of  large 
principal  chambers,  on  the  south-west  and  north  sides, 
each  having  a  smaller  room  opening  into  it  on  either 
side,  through  low  door-ways  with  flat  lintel  heads. 
The  chambers  of  the  upper  story  had  semicircular 
arched  door-ways  of  very  solid,  well-constructed  ma- 
sonry. The  size  of  the  lower  side-chambers  is  eight 
yards  by  six ;  and  of  the  nine  main  crypts,  eighteen 


GREEK   ALTAR   EXHUMED.  235 

yards  each  by  six  yards,  all  opening  into  the  central 
area.  The  entrance  was  in  the  east  face ;  and  the  old 
castle  seems,  at  the  date  of  the  Christian  empire,  to 
have  been  entirely  built  in  by  houses,  which  abut  on 
it  with  arches  and  half-arches,  like  those  of  Um  Rasas, 
on  every  side. 

To  the  north-west  of  the  castle  is  a  large  portion 
of  the  ancient  city,  with  the  usual  arches,  but  also 
with  some  singular  remains  of  Greek  architecture — 
one  probably  a  tomb,  with  elaborately  carved  lintels 
of  Corinthian  character.  Below  this,  again,  is  a  large 
square  tank,  in  which  there  was  still  water. 

The  Beni  Sakk'r  shepherds,  who  surrounded  me 
with  much  curiosity  as  I  took  the  angles  from  the  top 
of  the  castle,  assured  me  that  they  knew  of  a  curious 
inscribed  stone  which  they  had  buried,  but  which  they 
would  show  me.  I  accordingly  accompanied  them 
down  a  grassy  slope  to  the  south,  where  they  exhumed 
their  carved  stone,  which  proved  to  be  a  Greek  altar, 
of  pure  white  marble,  without  inscription,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  hollowed  surface  at  the  top  broken 
off  to  make  pestles  for  their  coffee-mortars.  In  its 
mutilated  state  it  was  twenty-six  inches  high,  and 
fourteen  in  diameter,  with  only  part  of  the  saucer- 
shaped  depression  left  in  the  upper  part. 

A  few  minutes'  ride  down  the  east  side  of  the  hill 
brought  me  to  a  massive  wall  in  the  plain,  built  to 
dam  up  the  water  in  the  gentle  depression,  which  is 
the  head  of  a  wady  running  westward.  The  wall  is 
about  six  hundred  yards  in  length  across  the  valley, 


236  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

and  eighteen  feet  thick.  Of  course  it  has  been  neg- 
lected, and  the  floods  have  broken  through  at  the 
north  end  of  the  wall,  and  worked  their  way  into 
their  old  channel,  though  water  runs  only  after  the 
occasional  rains.  There  is  not,  however,  any  grand 
tank  of  masonry  visible,  as  at  Ziza ;  but  the  deposit 
of  soft  soil  has  here  been  so  great  that  possibly  the 
most  important  parts  of  the  old  works  are  now  buried. 

The  buildings  of  Kustul  were  as  great  a  problem 
to  us  as  those  of  Mashita.  From  the  attachment  of 
the  later  arches  and  dwellings  of  the  Byzantine  epoch 
to  their  walls,  we  must  place  them  prior  to  the  later 
empire.  Then  the  many  fragments  of  fine  white  mar- 
ble, certainly  not  indigenous,  and  which  must  have 
been  brought,  at  great  cost,  from  beyond  sea,  belong- 
ed to  these  earlier  castles,  which  are  probably  either 
Herodian  or  the  work  of  some  of  the  Syrian  success- 
ors of  Alexander.  Their  shape  and  architecture  are 
of  a  character  perfectly  distinct  from  any  we  else- 
where met  with.  The  name,  again,  of  "  Kustul " — 
not  an  Arabic  word — seems  to  be  a  corruption  of  the 
Latin  "castellum,"  very  naturally  applied,  as  the  castle 
par  excellence^  to  a  castle  so  markedly  different  from 
the  square  block-houses  with  which  the  country  is 
studded.  But  I  can  find  no  clue  to  the  history  of  the 
place  in  either  Eusebius,  the  "  Itineraries,"  or  the 
"Notitia." 

After  taking  observations  to  fix  the  site,  I  rode  on 
due  north,  and  an  hour's  quick  ride  brought  us  to 
Thenib.     The  buildings  of  Thenib  cover  the  whole 


THE    BELKA.  237 

area  of  an  isolated  hill,  and  are  much  more  dilapi- 
dated and  ruder  than  those  we  had  recently  been 
visiting. 

Due  north  from  Thenib  two  miles,  I  found  another 
ruined  heap  on  a  hill,  very  like  the  shapeless  mass 
at  Kemail,  merely  an  old  block-house,  to  which  the 
Arabs  give  the  name  of  "  Eujum  Hamam,"  "  the  ru- 
ins of  the  pigeons,"  and  well  so  named.  I  was  now 
on  the  edge  of  the  plain,  as  the  hills  to  the  north  here 
begin  to  rise,  forming  the  conventional  boundary  be- 
tween Moab  and  Ammon,  or  between  the  Belka  and 
the  Ad  wan  country.  No  further  ruins  were  report- 
ed by  Sherouan  in  this  direction,  nor  could  any  be 
seen  among  the  bills  north  and  east;  so  I  turned 
my  horse's  head  due  south  to  return  to  our  camp  at 
Ziza. 

From  Thenib  and  from  Kustul  I  had  the  finest 
views  of  the  Belka,  as  this  country  is  officially  called,* 
which  we  had  yet  enjoyed.  But  not  only  was  the 
prospect  wide  and  clear;  we  had  also  the  opportu- 
nity of  seeing  an  Arab  migration.     The  law  of  "  cor- 

*  The  name  Belka  is  applied,  in  official  Turkish  documents,  to  the 
whole  plain  of  Moab.  But  in  common  parlance  the  slopes  of  the  Bel- 
ka mean  only  the  cultivated  land  running  down  eastward  from  a  line 
drawn  betvA'een  Heshban  and  Medeba,  and  inhabited  by  the  Belka 
tribe  of  Arabs.  Yet  the  Turks  are  right  in  giving  to  the  Pasha  of 
Nablous  the  title  of  "Pasha  of  the  Belka."  for  all  these  plains  were 
for  many  generations  the  heritage  of  the  Belka  ti'ibe,  who  about  170 
years  ago  were  driven  westward  by  the  irruption  of  the  Beni  Sakk'r 
from  the  east,  and  compelled  to  exchange  their  nomadic  for  their 
l)resent  semi-agricultural  life. 


238  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

vee,"  as  the  Frencli  terra  it,  renders  all  beasts  of  bur- 
den liable  to  be  impressed  for  the  service  of  an  army 
on  the  march. 

The  small  brigade  which  had  been  sent  for  our  res- 
cue still  remained  waiting  in  the  Wady  Na'ur,  and, 
having  already  exhausted  the  camels  and  the  patience 
of  the  Adwan  and  the  Belka  tribes,  had  sent  on  an 
intimation  to  the  Beni  Sakk'r  that  they  should  re- 
quire their  aid  for  the  transport  of  troops  and  bag- 
gage. The  news  spread  instantly  through  the  tribe, 
and,  without  concert,  each  shepherd  at  once  discovered 
that  the  pastures  were  exhausted,  and  that  he  must 
without  delay  move  southward  and  eastward.  The 
tribe  had  been  distributed  over  the  whole  breadth  of 
the  northern  plain,  in  little  camps  of  two  or  three 
families  each,  during  the  season  of  lambs  and  kids. 
At  once  there  was  a  general  migration  southward. 
Very  wonderful  was  the  sight.  The  whole  plain,  far 
as  the  glass  could  reach,  was  covered,  not  dotted,  with 
herds  of  camels,  goats,  sheep,  asses,  in  line  and  file, 
spreading  over  the  face  of  the  land.  The  herds  of 
Abraham,  or  the  flocks  of  Jacob  coming  from  Paran, 
could  not  have  equaled  these  innumerable  hordes. 
On  one  hill-slope  eighty-three  camels  were  counted 
without  turning  the  head. 

There  was  not  a  cloud  on  the  sky,  and  to  the  far- 
thest horizon  the  moving  lines  of  camels  stood  out  in 
white  dots.  We  rode  past  at  least  seven  camps  as 
we  returned,  each  camp  containing,  on  an  average, 
twelve  families,  and  each   family  averaging   twenty 


GRIFFON   VULTURES.  239 

camels  and  four  hundred  sheep  and  goats.  The 
women  were  mounted  on  camels  or  asses,  the  men 
ahead,  and  the  boys  bringing  up  the  rear-guard  of 
lambs  and  kids.  Besides  those  we  passed,  there  were 
thousands  more,  moving  on  the  plain  on  all  sides.  At 
one  place  we  saw  over  one  hundred  griffon  vultures 
congregated  over  the  carcass  of  a  camel  which  had 
just  dropped  on  its  march.  We  charged  them  in  the 
gallop,  and  actually  rode  among  them  before  they  had 
time  to  rise ;  but  I  had  no  ammunition.  So  com- 
pletely were  we  upon  them,  that  I  struck  two  with 
my  fowling-piece  in  the  stride.  Heavily  stretching 
forward,  they  commenced  by  an  ungainly  run,  and  at 
last  got  their  wings,  most  of  them  behind  us,  after  we 
had  ridden  through  them.  When  they  did  rise,  they 
actually  darkened  the  air,  as  they  passed  in  a  mass 
close  over  our  heads. 

We  had  the  first  sign  of  spring  to-day  in  the  return 
of  the  hoopoe,  while  a  swallow  took  refuge  in  our 
tents ;  yet  the  thermometer  was  again  down  to  24° 
Fahr.  My  companions  had  completed  a  good  day's 
work  at  Mashita;  Hayne  had  measurements  for  an 
exact  plan  of  the  palace ;  the  photographs  were  suc- 
cessful, excepting  those  of  the  inscriptions;  and  Trot- 
ter's gun  had  done  good  service,  both  to  ornithology 
and  the  kitchen. 

We  revisited  Kustul  to  photograph,  surrounded  by 
a  crowd  of  curious  but  most  inoffensive  visitors,  for 
there  was  still  a  large  camp  close  by.  No  worse 
harm  did  they  do  us  than  emptying  our  skins  and 


240  THE    LAND    OF    MOAB. 

leaving  us  waterless  at  luncheon,  on  a  day  as  hot  as 
the  night  had  been  cold. 

From  Kustul  we  turned  W.S.W.,  and  in  a  quarter 
of  an  hour  reached  the  ruins  of  Azabarah.  The  name 
suggests  some  connection  with  Asabaia,  given  in  the 
"  Notitia,"  in  this  part  of  the  country,  as  the  station 
of  the  first  cohort  of  Thracians.  Possibly  the  name 
yet  lingers  in  the  local  tongue,  and  this  may  have 
been  the  older  city,  while  the  garrison  was  stationed 
in  the  Castellum,  a  mile  off,  round  which  the  new 
town  gradually  gathered. 

At  Jebel  Jelul  we  caught  up  with  the  retiring  mi- 
grants from  the  north-western  pastures,  Jelul  is  a 
remarkable  hill,  completely  isolated,  rising  three  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  plain,  and  one  of  the  very  few 
places  where  I  have  seen  a  really  uninterrupted  pano- 
rama. It  does  not  seem  to  have  been  visited  by  any 
traveler,  though  it  is  marked  in  the  maps  two  miles 
east  of  Heshban ;  but  it  is  in  reality  very  far  south  of 
it.  It  was  curious  to  observe  on  all  sides  of  us,  ex- 
cept the  east,  a  double  rim  of  hills,  the  outer  just  ris- 
ing sufficiently  above  the  inner  to  enable  us  to  distin- 
guish with  our  glasses  the  most  important  points.  Er 
Ram  rose  above  Rasas,  Shihan  beyond  Attarus,  and 
Jebel  Jilad  (Mount  Gilead)  beyond  Heshban. 

After  an  hour  and  twenty  minutes'  farther  ride,  we 
reached  Sufa,  having  passed  several  camps  on  our 
way.  Almost  every  depression  had  beneath  its  shel- 
ter a  camp  of  Beni  Sakk'r  pitched,  halting  on  their 
way  southward.     At  one  of  these  we  found  that  the 


TRAINED   FALCONS.  241 

owner  was  an  old  sportsman,  and  had  two  fine  Saker 
falcons,  well  trained  and  docile.  They  were  last 
year's  birds,  and  had  not  yet  quite  completed  their 
hunting  education.  We  had  merely  halted  for  a 
draught  of  water ;  but  the  interest  shown  in  his  fa- 
vorites soon  opened  the  heart  of  the  old  man,  proud 
of  his  pets,  the  ensign  and  crest  of  his  tribe.  Each 
sat  on  its  movable  perch  on  either  side  of  the  tent 
door. 

The  Saker  {Falco  sacer)  is  much  prized  here,  and  is 
well  known  as  distinct  from  the  peregrine  and  the 
lanner,  which  latter  our  falconer  assured  us  was  a 
very  sluggish  falcon,  and  worthless  for  gazelle.  He 
was  not  to  be  tempted  to  sell  his  birds  at  any  price, 
and  treated  the  offer  of  £10  apiece  with  scorn.  These 
birds — obtained,  we  were  told,  from  the  east,  and  not 
from  the  mountains  of  the  Dead  Sea— were  the  only 
trained  falcons  we  met  with. 

After  taking  our  bearings,  half  an  hour's  easy  ride 
down  a  gently  undulating  descent  brought  us  to  our 
tents,  already  pitched,  and  the  English  ensign  flying 
by  a  dirty  pond,  but  with  lovely  pasturage,  starred 
with  a  blaze  of  scarlet  anemone,  in  the  Wady  Habis, 
an  affluent  of  the  Callirrhoe. 

We  had  heard  in  the  morning  of  a  great  honor  be- 
ing about  to  be  paid  us— a  visit  from  Fendi  y  Faiz, 
Zadam's  father,  and  the  great  sheik  of  the  Beni  Sakk'r, 
whose  camp  was  only  two  hours'  ride  from  the  Habis. 
Daoud  had  gone  on  before,  to  see  that  proper  care 
'  was  taken  for  his  reception,  and  with  orders  to  kill 


242  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

two  sheep  we  bad  bought  on  the  way,  and  to  get  the 
Mocha  coffee  ready.  A  visit  from  a  king  is  not  an 
every-day  occurrence,  and  it  required  all  our  stock  of 
dignity,  coffee,  and  tobacco  to  receive  Fendi  and  his 
three  sons  all  at  once. 

On  our  arrival,  we  found  the  old  prince  there  be- 
fore us,  his  presence  intimated  by  the  number  of  tall 
spears  stuck  in  the  ground,  gleaming  by  our  tents; 
while  a  splendid  camel,  with  gorgeous  trappings,  tow- 
ered above  all  the  other  beasts,  and,  camel-like,  growl- 
ed his  dissatisfaction  with  all  around. 

In  front  of  the  tents  the  best  carpet  and  cushions 
had  been  spread,  and  there  sat  the  gray-bearded  chief- 
tain, in  all  the  dignity  of  Oriental  sovereignty,  with  a 
large  retinue  of  followers  respectfully  squatted  in  a 
circle  round  him.  He  rose  and  greeted  us  in  Euro- 
pean mode,  by  shaking  hands ;  and  then  we  all  en- 
tered the  tent,  which  had  been  fitted  up  in  proper  di- 
van fashion  for  our  visitors. 

He  was  a  man  of  about  sixty-five,  with  iron-gray 
beard,  strongly  marked  features,  fine  and  prominent 
nose,  large  liquid  black  eyes,  and  rather  surly  expres- 
sion of  countenance;  dressed,  apparently,  in  all  his 
wardrobe  at  once,  and  perspiring  copiously  under  the 
oppressive  weight  of  clothing;  armed  with  scimiter 
and  pistol,  the  sheath,  stock,  and  barrel  of  which  were 
covered  with  silver  work.  Coffee  and  pipes,  which 
had  passed  before  we  came,  were  repeated,  and  a 
heavy  conversation  of  ponderous  compliments  passed 
through  the  dragoman  filter.     Fendi  exhibited  great 


DEPARTURE   OF  THE   HADJ   GUARD.  243 

courtesy,  and  was  with  difficulty  persuaded  to  stay 
for  dinner,  delicately  remarking  that  we  could  be 
only  guests  in  his  country. 

Peacefully  as  the  sun  went  down  on  this  grand 
fathering,  at  the  close  of  one  of  the  finest  and  most 
cloudless  of  days,  it  was  no  sooner  dark  than  we  heard 
not  only  of  departures,  but  of  war.  Fendi  y  Faiz  was 
off  to  conduct  the  hadj  for  sixteen  days  toward  Mecca, 
he  havincT  the  guardianship  of  the  pilgrims  from  the 
Hauran  till  six  days  south  of  Kerak,  for  which  pur- 
pose he  musters  seven  hundred  camel-men.  At  the 
same  time  Zatum  was  starting  for  the  east,  to  revenge 
the  robbery  of  their  camels  by  a  raid  on  the  'Anizeh, 
and  had  summoned  all  the  horsemen  of  his  tribe.  Sa- 
ban  was  to  go  with  him,  to  win  his  youthful  spurs  at 
the  age  of  thirteen. 

During  the  night  every  one  of  our  Arabs  left  us  to 
see  the  departure  of  the  hadj  guard  and  of  the  raiding 
party;  not  even  Zadam  remained;  and  our  only  in- 
ternational representative  was  the  dervish  Sherouan. 
Even  our  pantomimic  friend,  the  ibex- hunter,  was 
seized  with  the  war-frenzy,  and  disappeared  with  the 
rest.     Accordingly,  we  spent  the  morning  of  Februa- 
ry 29  in  riding  over  some  neighboring  ruins,  Betan  el 
Bareil,  Kirbet  el  Waleh,  and  Delailat,  a  little  farther 
to  the  east.     Before  11  a.m.  Zadam  returned  with  pro- 
fuse apologies.     Passing  the  ruins  of  Habis  in  half  an 
hour  more,  we  had  left  the  plains  of  the  Belka,  and 
entered  the  gorge  of  the  Habis,  now  out  of  the  Bern 
Sakk'r,  and  in  the  Beni  Hamideh  country. 


244  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB, 

The  ride  was  a  most  interesting  one  down  the 
gradually  deepening  valley,  and  afforded  a  splendid 
illustration  of  the  contrast  between  the  hill  country 
and  the  pastoral  uplands  of  Moab,  into  which  Eeuben, 
with  his  numerous  flocks  and  herds,  soon  withdrew 
among  the  sheep-cots,  to  hear  the  bleatings  of  the 
flocks;  wholly  indifferent,  from  his  nomad  and  pas- 
toral habits,  to  the  retention  of  the  mountain  fast- 
nesses and  the  rough  agricultural  lands,  which  the 
Moabites,  builders  and  husbandmen  by  taste  and  po- 
sition, gradually  recovered.  An  opposite  rule  to  that 
which  obtains  elsewhere  holds  good  in  this  country 
as  to  the  scenery  of  the  water-courses.  The  valleys 
all  begin  in  flat  plains,  as  mere  depressions,  and 
increase  in  wildness  and  grandeur  as  they  approach 
the  wall  of  the  Moab  mountains;  and  then,  instead 
of  rolling  sluggishly  to  the  end  of  their  course,  the 
streamlets  burst  through  the  range,  in  a  series  of  rap- 
ids and  cascades,  to  the  very  edge  of  the  sea. 


THE    HAMIDEH.  245 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

Change  from  the  Highlands. ^ — The  Hamideh. — Lords  of  high  and  low 
Degree. —  Septs  and  political  Divisions  of  the  Hamideh.  —  Their 
Habits  and  Character. — Ornithology  of  the  Glens. — The  Callirrhoe. 
— An  Evening's  Fishing. — Geology  of  the  Zerka  Ma'in. — Basaltic 
Streams. — Descent  to  the  hot  Springs.— The  Baths  of  Herod. — 
Hamideh  Camp.  —  Nubian  Slave.  —  A  Sulphur  Hot-bath. — De- 
scriptions of  Josephus  and  Pliny. — Ptolemy's  Geography. — Sulphur 
Terraces. — Rapid  Deposits. — Basalt  and  Limestone. — Palm-groves. 
— Temperature  of  the  Springs. —  Natural  Formation  of  Tunnels. — 
Primitive  Vapor-bath. — Arab  Traditions. — Legend  of  King  Solo- 
mon.— Sacrificial  Rites. — Strange  Plants. — The  Shrub  of  Josephus. 
— The  Sulphur  Plant. — Orobanches. — Butterflies  and  rare  Birds. — 
Ibex. — Sunday  at  Callirrhoe. — Amateur  Physician. — Venison  and 
Butter. — Hamideh  horned  Cattle. 

The  transition  from  the  highlands  to  the  mountains 
is  very  sudden.  Climate  and  vegetation  at  once  are 
changed.  At  first,  at  the  bottoms  of  the  valleys  are 
many  patches  of  flat  ground,  covered  with  the  richest 
herbage.  In  one  of  these  opens  we  found  a  camp  of 
Hamideh,  into  whose  district  we  had  now  entered. 
The  first  sign  of  our  proximity  was  a  large  herd  of 
she-asses  and  their  colts,  animals  not  in  favor  with 
the  more  warlike  Beni  Sakk'r.  The  camp  consisted 
of  fourteen  families. 

Here  Zadam  halted,  and  had  a  long  conversation 
with  their  sheik.  The  manner  of  both  —  the  non- 
chalance of  the  one,  the  cringing  deference  of  the 
17 


246  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

Other — was  an  amusing  illustration  of  the  great  man 
talking  with  the  small  one.  Zadam,  by  his  contract, 
was  bound  to  conduct  us  through  the  whole  of  the 
Beni  Hamideh  territory,  and  did  not  wish  to  have 
the  expense  of  their  sheik  accompanying  us.  But 
the  poor  man,  who  certainly  had  few  opportunities 
of  backsheesh,  urged  upon  him,  "  Why  should  you 
prevent  my  going  with  the  Franghi  and  getting  a 
little  present,  when  you  get  a  large  one?"  Our  sheik 
consented  at  last,  observing  to  the  inferior  magnate 
that  at  least  there  was  plenty  to  eat  at  our  camp,  and 
telling  us  that  the  Hamideh  came  at  his  own  choice, 
and  could  not  demand  a  gift. 

Our  new  follower  devoted  himself  henceforward 
most  assiduously  to  me,  as  a  profitable  milch  cow,  do- 
ing the  civil  most  oppressively,  and  kissing  my  hand 
on  every  possible  occasion.  Honest  and  inoffensive 
we  found  the  Hamideh,  one  and  all,  but  cringing  and 
mean  —  in  fact,  with  all  the  characteristics  of  those 
who  have  been  accustomed  to  be  treated  as  an  infe- 
rior race. 

So  far  from  being  independent,  as  is  generally  sup- 
posed, and  has  been  stated  by  some  writers,  there  is 
not  a  single  sept  of  the  Beni  Hamideh  (or  Hamaidi, 
as  some  of  them  prefer  to  call  themselves)  which  is 
not  the  vassal  of  some  greater  tribe.  All  those  north 
of  the  Arnon  are  the  "  teba'a  "  (feudal  subjects)  of  the 
Beni  Sakk'r,  while  those  south  of  it  have  the  worse 
misfortune  of  having  two  masters,  being  for  the  most 
part  vassals  of  Kerak,  and  at  the  same  time  compelled 


POLITICAL   DIVISIONS.  247 

to  purchase  the  good-will  of  their  neighbors,  the  Beiii 
Sakk'r,  to  whose  marauding  parties  they  would  oth- 
erwise be  continually  exposed.  This  position  has 
given  them  a  servile  tone  and  bearing,  which  is  all 
the  more  noticeable  in  contrast  with  the  haught}' 
bearing  of  the  lordly  Beni  Sakk'r. 

Again,  there  is  no  unity  in  the  politics  of  the 
Hamideh.  A  number  of  petty  sheiks,  each  leading  a 
few  families,  and  loath  to  acknowledge  any  superior 
in  their  own  tribe,  are  enabled,  by  the  configuration 
of  the  country,  to  hold  their  several  valleys  in  toler- 
able security.  It  is  no  easy  matter  to  lift  cattle  across 
from  one  wady  to  another  when  once  they  have  en- 
tered the  mountain  descents.  But  it  is  very  easy  for 
the  lords  of  the  highlands  to  sally  down  any  ravine 
they  please,  and  overrun  the  valleys. 

This  position  of  the  Hamideh  partlj^  explains  the 
difficulties  of  most  explorers  of  Moab.  They  have 
invariably  gone  to  the  wrong  tribe,  and,  learning  that 
the  Hamideh  possess  the  sites  of  the  principal  ruins, 
have  intrusted  themselves  to  the  first  petty  sheik  of 
the  tribe  to  whom  they  could  get  access.  These  chief- 
tains were  each  powerless  beyond  their  own  domains; 
and  endless  squabbles  over  paltry  backsheesh,  and 
final  disappointment,  have  been  the  result.  Had  our 
predecessors  been  as  fortunate  as  ourselves,  and  got 
under  the  protection  of  the  suzerains  of  the  whole 
country,  they  would  have  had  free  conduct  over  the 
lands  of  the  vassal  tribes,  and  we  should  not  have 
been  the  first  to  explore  a  large  part  of  the  country. 


248  THE    LAND    OF    MOAB. 

We  had  read  that  the  Hamideh  are  only  semi-nom- 
ad, and  inhabit  huts  or  houses  as  well  as  tents.  So 
far  as  we  could  ascertain,  they  live  only  under  can- 
vas throughout  the  year,  although  they  do  cultivate 
patches  of  ground. 

In  type  tliey  show  no  difference  from  the  other 
Bedouins;  there  is  no  trace  of  the  Syrian  fellah,  nor 
does  there  seem  any  reason,  beyond  the  bare  fact  that 
they  inhabit  the  same  region,  for  supposing  them  to 
be  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  Moabites.  Their 
own  tradition  is  that  they  were  driven  from  the  up- 
lands by  the  Belka  Arabs,  who  in  turn  have  been 
squeezed  out  by  the  Beni  Sakk'r. 

As  we  proceeded,  the  cliffs  afforded  many  attrac- 
tions to  artist  and  naturalist.  A  spotted  eagle  {Aqui- 
la  ncevia)  was  sitting  on  her  nest,  beautifully  in  sight, 
but  ingeniously  placed  out  of  reach.  For  the  first 
time  we  heard  the  cuckoo's  note  resounding  in  all 
the  glens  that  run  down  to  the  main  gorge.  The  Al- 
pine swift  {Gypselus  melba)  delighted  ns  by  dashing 
with  lightning  speed  overhead,  up  and  down  the  glen, 
quite  safe  from  the  assaults  of  fowling-piece.  The 
botanical  breast  was  gladdened  by  many  a  plant  not 
seen  before,  as  we  descended  into  the  warmer  regions. 
The  beautiful  wild  tulip  {Tulipa  Gesneriana)  was  the 
most  attractive  of  the  spring  novelties,  gleaming  in 
brightest  dress  from  the  crannies  of  the  rocks. 

The  little  river  of  the  Callirrhoe  is  here,  indeed, 
"fair-flowing,"  completely  buried  in  oleanders,  under 
which,  with  difficulty,  we  pushed  our  horses,  over  the 


AN  evening's  fishing.  249 

recent  tracks  of  wild  boar.  Emerging  on  the  other 
side,  we  rose  a  few  feet  into  a  little  plain,  knee-deep 
in  herbage,  buried  in  an  amphitheatre  of  hills,  a  love- 
ly tenting  spot.  By  common  consent  this  was  the 
queen  of  camps,  far  beyond  any  we  had  yet  enjoyed. 
We  had  descended  1400  feet  to-day.  The  air  was 
balmy,  yet  not  sultry,  for  we  were  still  high.  A  pool 
was  soon  found,  completely  covered  by  oleanders, 
where  we  had  a  delicious  bath,  the  water  being  deep 
enough  for  a  header  from  the  rocks,  and  a  good  swim 
afterward. 

A  deep  basin  in  the  I'ock  yielded  seventeen  fish  to 
two  lines  in  half  an  hour.  Trotter  had  quickly  ex- 
temporized rod  and  line,  and,  with  a  few  worms,  drew 
out  the  unsophisticated  fish  as  fast  as  he  could  bait 
his  hook.  Equally  astonished  were  he  and  the  fish. 
The  fish  were  of  the  same  species  as  those  of  the  Jab- 
bok  and  the  Jordan,  one  of  the  Cyprinidce  {Scaphiodc/n 
capoeia,  Guld.),  a  chub-like  fish  ;  and  a  delicious  break- 
fast they  afforded  us.  They  were  only  second  to  trout, 
and  the  best  river-fish,  next  to  the  Salmomdce,  I  ever 
tasted.  The  Arabs  have  a  prejudice  against  fish,  and, 
though  not  holding  them  unclean,  never  think  of  ei- 
ther catching  or  cooking  them.  Great  was  Zadam's 
amazement  at  the  device  of  hook  and  line,  by  which, 
as  he  said,  "  the  fishes  catch  themselves." 

March  came  in,  the  next  morning,  like  a  cloudless 
June  day,  with  a  fresh  breeze,  thermometer  65°,  and 
the  minimum  46°  in  the  night — a  change  after  24°. 
We  had  nearly  six  hours  to  the  Baths  of  Callirrhoe, 


250 


THE    LAND    OF    MOAB. 


heavy  walking  (for  we  determined  to  do  it  on  foot), 
but  magnificent  scenery.  Three  hours  brought  us  to 
"the  beginning  of  a  basaltic  torrent,  where  we  were  not 
sorry  that  our  horses  overtook  us.  At  first  sight  the 
valley  would  seem  to  end  here  in  a  broad  and  rather 
arid  bottom  ;  but  really  a  narrow  and  rapidly  deepen- 


NO.  37. 


KOCKS  AT  ENTRANCE  OF  ZERKA  MA'IN. 


ing  cleft  descends  from  nearly  half  the  height  of  the 
mountains  on  either  side.  Columns  of  pentagonal  ba- 
salt, deep  black,  and,  farther  on,  a  wild  gorge  with  the 
superincumbent  limestone  strata  laid  bare  in  perpen- 
dicular cliffs,  render  the  track  steep  and  circuitous. 


BASALTIC   STREAMS.  251 

In  parts  of  the  valley  the  water  disappears,  dried  up 
by  the  sun,  or  sinking  into  its  shingly  bed,  the  ole- 
anders and  the  water  always  keeping  company,  and 
preserving  each  other. 

The  irruption  of  basalt  is  marked  and  sudden,  and 
seems  exclusively  confined  to  the  gorge,  which  it 
would  appear  to  have  filled  in,  nearly  to  the  sea,  in 
places  to  the  depth  of  1000  feet;  while  the  water  has 
afterward  worked  its  way  through  the  softer  adjacent 
limestone  to  its  old  depth.  Not  only  has  the  upper 
limestone  been  always  cut  through,  but  also  the  red 
sandstone,  which  is  continually  showing  at  one  side 
or  other  of  the  gully,  where  the  basalt  is  thin. 

The  gorge  soon  became  too  narrow  to  be  passable, 
the  huge  boulders  and  deep  chasms  forbidding  even 
wild  goats  to  essay  its  perpendicular  height,  and  we 
turned  up,  not  to  the  higher  plateau,  but  to  a  lower 
terrace,  about  1300  feet  above  the  stream,  which  ex- 
tends a  mile  or  half  a  mile  on  each  side,  and  then  is 
walled  in  by  steeply-sloping  mountain  sides.  Again 
we  descended,  by  the  most  impossible  of  horse-paths; 
again  we  mounted,  after  once  more  crossing  the  ole- 
ander-shaded stream,  and  followed  for  a  little  distance 
the  brow  of  what  is  named  the  lower  plateau. 

Two  piles  of  stones  and  a  crooked  old  stick,  set  in 
one  of  them,  form  the  landmark  for  the  descent  from 
the  plateau  to  the  Jiistorical  hot  springs  of  Callirrhoe. 
Shortly  before  reaching  this  point,  the  waters  of  the 
Dead  Sea  and  the  whole  range  of  the  Judean  hills 
had  come  well  into  sight.     Before,  we  had  only  had 


252  THE    LAND    OF    MOAB. 

an  occasional  glimpse  down  the  vista  of  the  valley. 
Wild  and  broken,  the  views  on  this  pass  increase  in 
beauty  and  attractiveness  on  acquaintance.  Black 
basalt  on  the  southern,  white  and  yellow  limestone, 
over  red  sandstone,  on  the  northern  side — each  forma- 
tion broken  and  furrowed  in  a  different  way — scarped 
rocks,  and  nullahs,  like  the  canons  of  western  Ameri- 
ca, green  with  waving  date-palms  and  reeds  far  down 
the  southern  exposure,  and  a  winding  line  of  cane- 
break  among  rocks  1000  feet  below,  with  one  special- 
ly magnificent  basaltic  precipice,  barring  the  valley 
on  its  way  westward  to  the  Dead  Sea — such  are  the 
chief  features  from  the  top. 

As  we  descended,  right  upon  the  famous  baths  of 
Herod,  we  looked  down  on  a  scene  of  strange  enchant- 
ment. The  iron-red  rock  facing  us  was  gnarled,  and 
contorted  into  fantastic  shapes.  The  tall  palms  shaded 
an  exuberant  undergrowth  of  semi-tropical  foliage. 
The  stream  itself  is  completely  hidden  by  canebrakes 
and  oleanders,  but  we  could  see  the  bright  cascades 
leaping  down  the  rocks  from  the  hot  sulphur  springs; 
and  the  cloud  of  vapor  rising  in  long  lines  told  the 
temperature  of  the  heated  waters.  The  whitish  fringe 
by  the  edge  of  each  torrent  indicated  the  sulphur 
with  which  it  is  charged.  "Last  night's  camp  was 
perfection;  this  is  Paradise!"  exclaimed  an  enthusi- 
ast, as  we  looked  down  on  a  little  plateau  in  the  dell, 
and  saw  the  mules  beginning  to  congregate,  where 
the  tents  were  to  be  erected  for  a  few  days'  sojourn. 

Before  reaching  the  descent,  allured  by  the  birds, 


NUBIAN    SLAVE.  253 

which  had  drawn  me  aside  in  their  pursuit,  I  had  left 
my  horse  and  the  party,  and  afterward,  wearied  and 
thirsty,  was  right  glad  to  espy  some  Hamideh  tents, 
where  I  found  two  or  three  of  our  people  loitering 
with  the  light  animals,  and  enjoying  an  Arab  gossip. 
A  carpet  was  at  once  spread  and  a  bowl  of  soured 
milk  brought  me  —  a  most  delicious  draught  on  a 
broiling  day.  I  reclined  against  a  sack,  and  soon 
found  I  had  been  ushered  into  the  women's  compart- 
ment, and  was  an  object  of  great  curiosity.  All  the 
little  ones,  from  two  years  old  and  upward,  came  to 
kiss  me  on  both  cheeks,  in  natural  expectation  of 
backsheesh. 

Among  them  was  a  woolly-haired,  nearly  black 
boy,  of  about  three  years,  with  good  and  beautifully 
regular  features.  I  asked  with  some  surprise  if  he 
were  an  Arab.  "Oh  yes;  his  mother  is  here;  she 
is  a  Nubian  slave,  and  my  husband  bought  her  from 
Egypt."  The  mother  was  at  once  called  from  her 
work  and  introduced  to  me;  and  though  black,  she 
was  really  handsome,  and  the  only  good-looking 
member  of  the  party.  The  elderly  dame,  who  did 
the  honors  of  the  tent,  stroked  her  affectionately  on 
the  face,  and  appealed  to  me  as  to  her  comeliness. 

This  was  the  first  time  I  had  had  a  chance  of  see- 
ing Bedouin  women  at  leisure,  and  in  their  own 
home;  and  though  the  Hamideh  have  not  the  best 
of  reputations,  we  always,  during  our  stay,  found  them 
hospitable  and  unsuspicious.  They  treated  us  as  sim- 
ple guests,  and  never  made  any  difficulties  or  demands 


254  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

beyond  the  very  legitimate  one  on  the  tobacco-pouch, 
which  the  ladies  appreciated  as  much  as  their  lords. 
Though  my  Nubian  acquaintance  here  was  a  slave 
girl,  she  and  her  children  (for  she  had  a  six-months- 
old  babe  at  her  breast)  seemed  to  be  on  terms  of  per- 
fect equality  with  the  rest  of  the  family. 

When  we  had  reached  the  bottom  of  the  pass — no 
easy  task,  the  upper  part  nearly  as  steep  as  the  cliff 
of  Ziz,  and  strewn  with  basaltic  boulders,  the  lower 
portion  of  our  descent  down  the  sloping  sides  of  lime- 
stone detritus  steep  as  a  high-pitched  Gothic  roof — 
we  next  had  to  force  our  way  through  a  tangle  of 
trees  and  canes,  and  over  the  rough  boulders  left  by 
winter  torrents.  Then  we  had  to  scramble  over  thin 
sulphur  deposits,  across  hot  streams,  through  sharp 
and  dense  canebreaks,  or  to  stumble  over  rocks,  knee- 
deep  in  water  as  hot  as  could  be  endured. 

At  length  we  descend  from  a  little  table  of  sulphur 
deposit,  by  a  few  rugged  crags,  to  a  small  grassy  flat, 
strewn  with  black  boulders,  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
river,  which  dashes  a  few  feet  below  us.  It  is  fringed 
with  a  dense  line  of  waving  reeds  and  tamarisk  plumes; 
while  to  the  west,  only  three  yards  from  our  first  tent, 
the  largest  of  the  hot  springs  skips  down,  in  one  tiny 
cascade  after  another,  with  a  cloud  of  steam  overhang- 
ing it,  and  its  temperature  130°  Fahr.,  to  join  the  riv- 
er, ten  yards  below  us.  At  the  junction  was  a  large 
flat  stone,  which  we  constituted  our  bath-room.  On 
it  we  could  undress,  sponge,  and  take  a  dip  (at  least 
with  our  feet,  if  too  hot  for  the  body  to  bear),  and 


MEDICINAL   BATHS.  255 

then  turn  to  the  other  side  of  the  stone,  and  in  a  deep 
pool  have  a  cold,  or  at  least  cool,  bath.  Surely  this 
is  the  height  of  luxury  — a  Turkish  and  medicinal 
bath  combined  au  naturel! 

From  our  camp  we  could  see  down  the  ravine  to 
its  opening,  down  the  far-stretching  gorge,  where  the 
hills  of  Judah  form  a  background,  the  Frank  Mount- 
ain, the  chief  feature,  framed  in  a  rich  moulding,  on 
the  one  side  of'  basalt  columns,  and  on  the  other  of 
bright  red  sandstone. 

This  marvelous  place  is  historically  famous  as  the 
resort  of  Herod  the  Great,  w^ho  sought  it  in  his  last 
illness,  to  find  relief  from  its  medicinal  baths.  It  is 
especially  interesting  as  having  been  visited  by  only 
three  or  four  parties  of  Europeans  in  modern  times. 
Irby  and  Mangles  in  1818,  the  Due  de  Luynes  in 
1864,  and  Dr.  Chaplin,  of  Jerusalem,  with  Mr.  Klein, 
were  the  only  travelers  who  seem  to  have  actually 
visited  the  springs.  Burckhardt  passed  to  the  east- 
ward, De  Saulcy  did  not  get  so  far,  and  Lynch  only 
ascended  a  mile  from  the  shore.  It  is,  however,  de- 
scribed both  by  Pliny  and  Josephus,  but  very  shortly. 
The  latter  ("  Antiq."  xvii.,  6)  merely  says  that  Herod 
"went  beyond  the  River  Jordan,  and  bathed  himself 
in  the  warm  baths  that  were  at  Callirrhoe,  which,  be- 
sides their  other  general  virtues,  were  also  fit  to  drink. 
And  this  water  runs  into  the  lake  called  Asphalitis."* 

*  YloTUfidv  TE  nepdaag  'lopdavr/v,  dep/io'ig  toIq  Kara  KaTiTiipdr/v  avrbv 
wapediSov,  dnep  avv  ry  £f  navf  apery  /cat  ndrifid  eanv.  'E^eim  6e  to 
v6up  TovTO  eJf  2.t/iv7iv  ryv  aa^alro^dpov  Tieyofievrp;. 


256  THE    LAND    OF    MOAB. 

On  the  statement  of  the  potabihty  of  the  water,  it 
may  be  observed  that,  though  impregnated  with  sul- 
phur, we  found  some  of  the  warm  springs  not  at  all 
nauseous,  and  drank  of  them  freely,  while  we  were 
there,  without  inconvenience.  The  water  only  slight- 
ly flavored  our  tea. 

Pliny's  account  is  as  brief,  but  not  so  accurate. 
Placing  Machgerus  on  the  south,  instead  of  the  east, 
side  of  the  Dead  Sea,  he  says,  "  On  tue  same  side  is 
the  hot  spring  of  Callirrhoe,  with  medicinal  virtues, 
proclaiming  in  its  very  name  the  fame  of  its  waters." 
—Pliinj,  v.,  17.* 

This  is  almost  the  only  reference  of  Pliny  to  the 
country  east  of  the  Dead  Sea.  In  a  subsequent  para- 
graph, in  his  account  of  the  Essenes,  he  incidentally 
shows  that  the  contrast  in  fertility  between  the  east 
and  west  sides  of  the  lake  was  noticeable  in  his  time; 
for  he<  speaks  of  the  Jewish  anchorets  on  the  west 
side  as  avoiding  the  unwholesome  shore,  but  living  in 
society  among  the  palm-trees,  which  do  not  approach 
the  shore  on  the  west  side,  though  they  grow  to  the 
water's  edge  on  the  east. 

Ptolemy's  description  of  this  region  is  extremely 
vague;  and  though  he  mentions  Callirrhoe  as  on  the 
east  of  Jordan,  he  inserts  Jazer  between  it  and  Ma- 
chgerus, and  separates  these  altogether  from  the  prov- 
ince of  Arabia,  in  which  he  places  the  neighboring 

*  Eodem  latere  est  calidus  fons  medicse  salubritatis,  Callirrhoe, 
aquarum  gloriam  ipso  nomine  prseferens. 


THE   CALLIRRHOE. 


257 


towns  of  Ziza  andZoar;  while  Masada  is  transferred 
from  Judea  to  Arabia  Petrsea.  Kerak,  however,  he 
gives  in  its  proper  location,  under  the  form  ofCharac- 
moab  (Xajoaic/uwa/3). 

To  describe  Callirrhoe  itself  is  almost  as  difficult  as 
to  photograph  it.  The  latter  we  found  impossible,  so 
far  as  to  obtain  a  general  view  of  the  gorge;  for  from 
no  place  could  a  complete  view  of  the  whole  be  got 
into  the  camera.  Buried  in  a  deep  cleft  of  the  mag- 
nificent ravine,  the  Callirrhoe  gives  no  signs  of  its 
neighborhood  to  the  traveler  on  the  heights,  or  on 
the  lower  plateau,  which  we  called  the  Terrace.  It  is 
only  on  approaching  the  northern  edge  of  this  that 
one  sees  the  chasm,  with  its  sides  sometimes  rugged 
and  sloping,  a  mass  of  basaltic  boulders ;  or  when  we 
look  farther  down  the  course  of  the  stream,  built  in 
by  a  wall  of  columnar  basalt,  like  Stafta  or  lona,  but 
1200  feet  sheer. 

Looking  to  the  northern  side,  the  general  appear- 
ance of  the  flice  differs  much  from  the  southern.  Less 
steep,  but  more  impracticable,  and  200  feet  higher, 
the  white  limestone  is  unbroken  by  basaltic  streams, 
and  barely  tinted  with  vegetation  till  near  the  bottom 
of  the  ravine,  where  the  red  sandstone  appears.  From 
this  point  it  is  thickly  scarped  by  deep  and  precipi- 
tous nullahs  running  down  to  the  stream,  each  of 
them  a  mass  of  canebrakes  hollowed  by  the  runs 
of  wild  boar,  and  tall  palm-trees  waving  over  them. 
From  the  foot  of  each  issues  a  hot  spring;  or  else  a 
little  purling  rivulet  of  smoking-hot  sulphurous  wa- 


258  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

ter  winds  its  way  down,  and  then,  near  the  bottom, 
becomes  a  series  of  tiny  cascades. 

Great  black  cliffs  of  sulphurous  deposit  fringe  the 
north  bank,  some  of  them  fifty  feet  high,  and  some 
even  150,  formed  by  the  incrustation  from  the  min- 
eral springs,  which  is  still  rapidly  increasing.  Even 
these  black  and  volcanic-looking  tables  are  covered 
with  strange  and  unwonted  plants,  some  of  them  men- 
tioned in  detail  by  Joseph  us,  and  referred  to  subse- 
quently in  this  chapter. 

For  Roman  ruins,  or  any  traces  of  the  residence  of 
Herod  during  his  sojourn  here,  we  searched  in  vain; 
nor  are  any  coins  left  on  the  surface,  as  there  were 
in  the  time  of  Irby  and  Mangles.  No  wonder ;  for 
so  rapidly  formed  is  the  sulphurous  deposit,  that  any 
thing  the  Romans  built  must  now  be  many  feet  be- 
low the  surface.  The  river  and  the  hot  torrents  sim- 
ply keep  their  channels  open,  burying  themselves 
deeper  every  year. 

It  is  to  be  observed  that,  while  all  the  basalt  is  on 
the  south,  all  the  springs  issue  from  the  north,  and 
that  they  all  emerge  just  at  the  junction  of  the  red 
sandstone  and  the  limestone.  The  stratification  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  much  disturbed;  but  higher 
up  in  the  ravine  the  line  of  the  basalt,  resting  per- 
fectly horizontally  on  the  limestone,  is  finely  shown. 
There  the  wady  seems  to  have  been  filled  in  with 
a  mass  of  conglomerate,  of  which  a  pudding-stone, 
formed  principally  of  well  -  rounded  basaltic  blocks, 
a  yard  square,  is  the  chief  ingredient.     Through  this 


HOT  SPRINGS.  259 

filling  in  the  torrent  has  gradually  again  worn  its 
way,  leaving  the  huge  boulders,  which  render  passage 
almost  impossible. 

The  nullahs,  studded  with  palms,  are  undoubtedly 
the  features  of  the  valley ;  and  every  one  of  them 
supplies  a  hot  spring,  which  sometimes  emerges  at 
the  top,  and  comes  dashing  down;  and  at  others,  bub- 
bles up  with  tremendous  force  at  the  foot,  just  where 
the  conglomerate  begins. 

In  a  reach  of  three  miles  there  are  ten  principal 
springs.  The  first,  which  is  not  very  hot,  and  only 
slightly  sulphurous,  consists  of  five  distinct  little 
springs,  which  issue  from  the  ground  under  the  rocks, 
on  a  little  plateau  at  the  base  of  the  caiion.  The  sec- 
ond, third,  and  fourth  are  similar  springs,  issuing  from 
the  foot  of  palm  nullahs,  or  canons,  above  where  our 
camp  was  placed,  each  hotter  and  more  strongly  im- 
pregnated than  the  last. 

The  fifth,  that  already  mentioned,  which  passed 
close  by  our  tents,  is  the  largest  of  all,  temperature 
130°  Fahr.,  and  rises  at  the  very  top  of  its  ravine, 
half  a  mile  up,  at  the  foot  of  a  cliff',  in  a  mass  of 
brush-wood  overhung  by  palms.  Before  it  reaches 
the  open  below,  it  receives  two  considerable  tribu- 
taries, bubbling  out  of  the  earth  and  rising  several 
inches  in  the  air.  Here  it  has  formed  one  sulphur 
terrace  after  another.  At  the  base  of  one  of  them 
is  a  curious  phenomenon  —  a  group  of  palm -stems 
completely  petrified  into  a  sort  of  white,  powdery 
chalk,  which  crumbles  at  the  touch.     The  steam  of 


260  THE    LAND    OF    MOAB. 

this  cascade  can  be  seen  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  or 
two. 

The  sixth  spring  starts  only  at  the  foot  of  its 
nullah.  The  seventh  and  eighth  springs,  the  most 
remarkable,  and  perhaps  the  most  characteristic  of  all, 
start  very  near  together,  half  a  mile  lower  down  than 
our  camp,  very  high  up,  but  still  at  the  base  of  their 
little  ravine.  Hence  there  has  once  'descended  a  slop- 
ing platform  of  sandstone,  which  has  now  been  raised 
to  a  large  flat  terrace  of  sulphur  crust  and  black  de- 
posit, burying,  I  suspect,  the  old  Roman  baths. 

The  two  springs  bubble  forth  at  the  foot  of  a  cliff 
with  amazing  force,  each  forming  at  once  a  basin  a 
few  feet  in  diameter,  from  which  they  flow  down  but 
a  few  yards,  when  they  suddenly  disappear  under  the 
black  incrustation,  which  looks  much  like  a  cinder- 
heap  consolidated,  and  which  is  by  far  the  largest  and 
most  elevated  shelf  of  sulphur  deposit  in  the  whole 
valley.  Under  a  thin  crust  one  can  hear  the  gur- 
gling waters  working  their  way  pretty  close  to  the 
surface,  till  they  reach  the  edge  of  the  cliff,  where 
they  form  cascades,  or,  as  the  Arabs  would  say,  "  wa- 
ter-hills" {jehel  moia),  into  the  main  stream. 

The  springs  evidently  have  buried  themselves  in 
tunnels  of  their  own  construction  ;  and  elsewhere  we 
could  see  the  process  actually  going  on.  The  mineral 
matter  is  rapidly  deposited  on  each  side  of  the  chan- 
nel;  and  gradually  the  spray,  which  is  incessantly 
leaving  its  insoluble  sediment  on  the  edge  of  the 
crust,  forms  a  dome ;  the  key-.stone  of  the  arch  being, 


ARAB   INGENUITY.  261 

of  course,  the  last  step  in  this  natural  tunnel-building 
process. 

Over  these  hidden  channels  the  Arabs  had  in  three 
places  very  ingeniously  constructed  their  primitive 
medicinal  baths.  A  basin  had  been  hollowed  out 
large  enough  for  a  man  to  sit  in,  and  at  the  bottom  a 
hole  perforated  down  to  the  stream,  about  six  inches 
in  diameter,  through  which  the  sulphurous  steam 
rushed  up.  The  patient  strips,  squats  in  the  basin, 
throws  his  burnoose  over  the  bath,  and  is  steamed  as 
long  as  he  can  endure  the  heat.  Our  Arabs  contrived 
a  still  hotter  bath,  immediately  over  the  first  exit  of 
the  springs,  by  an  ingenious  construction  of  branches 
laid  across  a  pile  of  stones  on  each  side,  over  which 
they  placed  brush-wood  crosswise,  and  then,  stripping, 
placed  their  cloaks  over  their  heads,  and  enjoyed  a 
parboiling.  Some  of  our  party  essayed  the  experi- 
ment with  their  clothes  on,  with  the  uncomfortable 
result  of  a  hot  ducking,  which  they  were  not  inclined 
to  repeat. 

The  ninth  spring  is  also  very  large,  but,  starting 
higher  up  in  the  ravine,  is  much  cooler  before  its  wa- 
ters are  accessible.  The  tenth  and  last  spring  is  the 
hottest  of  all,  its  w^aters  143°  Fahr.,  and  that  some 
way  after  it  has  emerged.  Though  its  cascades  are 
not  so  fine,  it  adds,  perhaps,  the  largest  and  most  sul- 
phurous volume  of  water  of  any  of  the  series.  Be- 
low these  springs  the  water  of  the  Callirrhoe  becomes 
very  gradually  cooler,  until  at  its  mouth,  seven  miles 
down,  it  registers  70°  Fahr. 

18 


1262  THE    LAND    OF    MOAB. 

The  Arabs  have  many  strange  superstitions  and 
traditions  about  these  springs.  We  had  the  greatest 
difiiculty  in  keeping  our  men  in  good  humor  during 
our  eight  days'  camp  here,  in  spite  of  the  abundance 
of  forage,  food,  and  water,  and,  still  more,  the  oppor- 
tunity it  gave  them  of  indulging  in  that  sweetest  of 
Arab  luxuries,  the  "  dolce  far  niente,"  because  of  a 
proverb,  "  Take  thy  bath  at  the  Zerka  Ma'in,  thank 
Allah,  and  be  gone."  They  have  a  firm  belief  that 
the  evil  spirits  let  out  the  water  from  the  lower  re- 
gions because  of  its  healing  properties,  lest  it  should 
assuage  the  pains  of  tlie  condemned ;  but,  at  the  same 
time,  that  they  are  too  near  for  any  one  to  escape  in- 
jury who  exposes  himself  after  night-fall  to  their  in- 
line nee. 

Another  tradition  is  that  the  springs  were  opened 
by  a  servant  of  King  Solomon,  who  had  discovered 
these  sources  of  healing  to  be  very  near  the  crust  of 
the  earth,  and  who  therefore  dispatched  this  man  to 
tap  them,  selecting  him  because  of  his  deafness,  lest 
he  should  be  deterred  by  the  threats  of  the  Evil  One. 

In  connection  with  this  superstition,  we  saw  the 
only  instance  of  the  practice  of  sacrifice  I  ever  met 
with  among  the  Bedouin.  On  Sunday  our  muleteers 
begged  for  a  lamb  for  dinner,  which  we  gave  them. 
This  they  carried  up  to  the  source  of  the  bath  springs, 
and  then  chanted  long  invocations  to  the  deaf  servant 
of  King  Solomon,  who  had  made  these  fountains,  to 
hear  them,  and  to  preserve  to  the  waters  their  healing 
virtues.     They  then  performed  a  number  of  strange 


BOTANY   OF   THE    CALLIRRHOE.  263 

incantations,  stretched  the  lamb  on  its  back,  cut  its 
throat  over  the  spring,  kindled  a  fire,  and  roasted  it 
whole.  As  soon  as  it  was  cooked,  they  ate  the  in- 
wards, and  then  the  rest  of  the  flesh  on  the  spot, 
quoting  verses  of  the  Koran,  and  singing  deprecatory 
verses  against  the  powers  of  evil,  during  the  whole  of 
their  feast.  When  they  had  finished,  the  bones  of  the 
sacrifice  were  carefully  collected,  and,  with  the  ashes 
of  the  fire,  were  calcined  by  fresh  fuel,  and  finally 
were  all  cast  into  the  spring,  to  avert,  as  they  told  us, 
the  ill  consequences  of  the  Evil  Eye,  which  had  been 
upon  us  for  our  presumptuous  camping  in  the  home 
of  the  spirits. 

The  botanical  peculiarities  of  Callirrhoe  must  strike 
even  the  most  unobservant  visitor.  One  plant,  an 
asclepiad  {Doemia  cordata),  which  we  called  "Jose- 
phus,"  from  the  historian's  grotesque  description  of 
its  appearance  and  properties,  we  think  we  have  re- 
discovered. It  grows  but  sparingly,  only  on  the  "  mo- 
raines" of  the  chief  sulphur  spring,  and  just  below  its 
"  glacier."  A  twining  shrub,  it  supports  itself  upon 
itself,  the  young  branches  clinging  to  the  dead  stems 
of  the  previous  year.  The  flower  is  small,  of  a  dull 
purple,  with  a  perfectly  white  centre ;  the  fruit  large, 
in  pairs,  and  of  a  most  extraordinary  shape,  something 
like  the  pines  of  an  Indian  shawl  pattern,  and  exud- 
ing an  astringent,  milky  juice  when  broken.  Its  seeds 
are  in  a  long  string,  each  winged  with  a  fine  cottony 
down,  like  the  "osher." 

Another  plant  of  very  limited  area,  which  we  only 


264:  THE   LAND    OF   MOAB. 

observed  on  the  sulphur  and  the  basalt  rocks  near 
it,  we  named  the  sulphur  plant.  It  is  a  crucifer,  not 
unlike  a  wall-flower  in  form  and  growth,  with  its  root 
orange,  its  stem  and  bark  sulphur  color,  its  leaves  and 
fruit-pods  a  brick-dust  orange,  and  its  flowers  a  paler 
orange.  Every  portion  of  it  reeked  with  the  odor  of 
sulphur,  and  altogether  it  had  a  most  jaundiced  look. 

Splendid  orobanches,  of  two  species  in  particular, 
one  pinkish  purple,  the  other  bright  yellow,  thrive  on 
the  roots  of  the  Atriplex  halimus,  sometimes  in  large 
tufts,  each  flower-stalk  more  than  three  feet  high,  and 
covered  with  blossom  from  the  ground  upward.  An 
exquisite  rose-colored  geranium  abounds  among  the 
stones.  Where  the  soil  is  a  little  richer  than  usual, 
it  is  a  mass  of  the  night-scented  stock ;  and  the  inter- 
stices of  the  rock  are  gay  with  scarlet  ranunculus  and 
masses  of  sorrel  and  cyclamen. 

Butterflies  of  gorgeous  hue  and  great  size,  papi- 
liones,  and  danaides;  charaxes,  thais,  and  parnassia, 
hover  over  the  shrubs.  All  the  birds  —  which  had 
been  the  novelties  and  prizes  of  my  first  expedition 
to  the  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea— the  short-tailed  whist- 
ling raven  {Corvus  affinis),  the  bulbul,  the  bush  bab- 
bler, the  Moabite  sparrow,  and  many  a  rare  warbler, 
inhabit  the  thickets  or  scan  the  cliffs  above  them; 
while  on  the  green  spots  between  impassible  preci- 
pices both  abov^  and  below  us,  we  can  see  the  ibex 
feeding,  and  tossing  back  their  huge  horns  till  they 
seem  to  strike  their  tails  as  they  bound  from  rock  to 
rock. 


THE   HAMIDEH   ARABS.  265 

In  spite  of  the  interruption  of  the  sacrifice  to  Solo- 
mon's servant,  against  which  we  vainly  remonstrated 
with  our  Arabs,  by  pleading  the  laws  of  Mohammed, 
which  forbade  it  as  idolatry,  we  rarely  enjoyed  so 
quiet  a  rest-day  as  our  Sunday  at  the  Callirrhoe.  In 
the  quiet  seclusion  of  that  deep  glen,  after  a  week  of 
such  hard  and  absorbing  work,  there  was  a  delicious 
absence  of  all  that  could  distract  from  the  holier  and 
higher  thoughts  of  the  day ;  while  the  incident  of  the 
martyrdom  of  John  the  Baptist,  in  the  second  lesson, 
could  nowhere  have  been  read  more  appropriately 
than  almost  under  the  shadow  of  its  scene.  Not 
less  in  exact  harmony  with  the  place  and  events  was 
Keble's  hymn  for  the  day. 

High  as  is  the  reputation  of  Solomon's  Springs 
among  the  Bedouin  for  their  healing  virtues,  the  pres- 
ence of  a  "  hakim,"  even  though  an  infidel  dog,  seem- 
ed more  attractive  to  the  sufferers  in  the  neighbor- 
hood ;  for  many  were  the  visitors  from  Hamideh 
camps  who  found  their  way  down  in  the  afternoon 
to  seek  medicine  for  themselves  or  their  friends — 
some  of  them  not  empty-handed.  We  had,  in  pass- 
ing camps  on  the  heights,  been  invited  to  prescribe  in 
various  cases,  comprising  blindness,  club-foot,  congen- 
ital lameness,  and  stiff"  joint  of  twenty  years'  standing. 
It  was  difficult  to  persuade  these  mountaineers  that 
any  thing  was  beyond  the  skill  of  a  European,  Our 
excuses  were  always  put  down  to  ill-will,  for  they 
look  upon  medicine  as  a  sort  of  magic.  Some  cases 
we  could  relieve,  and  one  grateful  wife  this  afternoon 


266  THE   LAND    OF   MOAB. 

brought  with  her  a  kid-skin  full  of  fresh  butter  ("  but- 
ter of  kine"),  the  first  we  had  seen  during  our  jour- 
ney, and  which  she  offered  for  a  very  modest  price. 

Another  Beni  Hamideh  brought  in  an  ibex  he  had 
shot,  and  which  proved  excellent  venison.  So  we  did 
not  fare  ill  for  our  Sunday  dinner.  The  luxury  of 
fresh  butter  we  owed  to  our  being  now  in  the  terri- 
tory of  the  Hamideh,  the  only  tribe  we  met  with  east 
of  Jordan  who  keep  horned  cattle  in  any  numbers. 
The  Beni  Sakk'r  have  none,  for  they  are  wholly  un- 
fitted to  endure  the  long  migrations  of  that  tribe, 
though  the  highlands  seem  as  well  adapted  for  cattle 
as  for  sheep.  The  people  of  Kerak  have  only  a  few, 
and  those  at  a  distance  from  the  city. 

But  the  Hamideh,  in  these  rocky  defiles  possessing 
fresh  pasturage  shaded  from  the  summer  sun,  and  also 
open  table-lands  among  the  hills  for  winter  feeding, 
find  their  cattle  the  most  profitable  stock  next  to 
goats.  Camels  they  have  none,  and  horses  very  few, 
but  have  considerable  herds  of  asses.  The  cattle  are 
very  small,  rough  as  a  Scotch  kylo,  horned,  and  scarce- 
ly larger  than  the  little  Brittany  race.  I  do  not  re- 
member that  we  ever  saw  any  other  color  than  black. 
Among-  the  Belka  Arabs  is  a  different  breed  of  cat- 
tie,  'much  larger,  and  very  varied  in  color. 

Unlike  the  sheep,  the  cattle  do  not,  as  yet,  find  their 
way  across  Jordan  to  the  markets  of  Jerusalem  ov 
Nablous.  Beef  is  a  costly  luxury,  for  the  bullocks 
are  as  valuable  for  the  plow  as  the  heifers  are  for 
milch  kine. 


EXPLOKING   A   CASTLE.  267 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

V'isit  to  Machienis. —  Delays  at  Starting. —  Superstitions  and  Obsti- 
nacy of  Muleteers. — Wady  Z'gara.  —  Deep  Gorge. — Fine  Land- 
scape.— Ruins  of  Macliijerus. —  The  Town.  —  Roman  Road.  —  For- 
tress.—  Citadel.  —  Dungeons. — The  Baptist's  Prison. — Pliny's  Ac- 
count.— History  of  Machterus. — Josephus's  Description. — The  Mac- 
cabees.— Herod  the  Great. — Fabled  Plant. — Siege  by  L.  Bassus. — 
Identity  of  the  Castle  with  the  Baptist's  Prison. — Hamideh  Hospi- 
tality.— Fresh  Butter. — Grand  Panorama. — Stone  Circles. — Expe- 
dition to  Attarus. — Horses  lost  and  found. — A  wooded  District. — 
View.  —  Jebel  Attarus. —  Kureiyat. —  Identity  with  Kiriathaim. — 
Attarus  and  Ataroth. 

Our  first  care,  after  settling  camp  at  the  hot  springs 
of  Callirrhoe,  was  to  ascertain  the  site  of  Machaerus, 
and  pay  a  visit  to  that  spot,  which  has  been  vaguely 
mentioned  by  two  or  three  travelers  (who  have  fol- 
lowed the  account  of  Josephus)  as  being  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Callirrhoe,  near  the  hot  springs,  but  which 
has  not  been  visited  by  any  one. 

To  explore  the  castle  where  John  the  Baptist  was 
imprisoned  and  beheaded,  and  which  became  so  fa- 
mous by  its  desperate  resistance  in  the  Jewish  war 
against  Titus  and  the  Romans,  had  been  a  long-cher- 
ished day  -  dream,  at  length  to  be  accomplished.  It 
is  strange  that,  in  spite  of  its  historical  interest,  we 
should  have  been  the  first  Western  travelers  since  the 
Roman  times  who  have  ever  explored  it;  for  the 
place,  though  lying  out  of  the  track  from  north  to 


268  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

south,  is  well  known  to  all  the  neighboring  tribes; 
and  its  name  is  unchanged — M'khaur,  the  exact  Ara- 
bic transliteration  of  the  Greek  Ma\aipovg  of  Jo- 
seph us. 

We  were  disappointed  of  an  early  start,  for  Daoud, 
a  servant,  and  a  donkey  boy  who  had  been  with  us 
on  an  expedition  the  day  before,  and  had  charge  of 
the  camera,  had  lost  their  way  on  the  top  of  the  pass,, 
and,  belated  in  the  darkness,  had  slept  at  a  Beni  Ham- 
ideh  camp.  Daoud  had  the  housekeeping  keys  with 
him,  and  the  prospects  of  breakfast  were  poor;  but 
the  ingenious  Trotter  soon  extemporized  some  tackle 
and  secured  a  good  dish  of  fish  in  the  pools  above 
the  entrance  of  the  hot  water,  while  we  enjoyed  our 
vapor  baths  au  naturel. 

Meantime  the  muleteers,  seeing  indications  of  a 
prolonged  sojourn,  threatened  a  mutiny,  and  prognos- 
ticated every  kind  of  evil  from  man  and  demon. 
Pestilence,  robbery,  and  nocturnal  visits  from  the 
servant  of  Solomon,  so  rudely  disturbed  in  his  haunts, 
were  the  least  of  the  evils  inevitable  on  our  stay. 
Muleteers  are  certainly  typical  Bourbons.  They 
learn  nothing,  and  they  forget  nothing.  Abundant 
as  is  the  herbage  of  the  glen,  the  horses  and  mules 
were  daily  driven  a  weary  climb  up  to  the  heights, 
lest  the  sprites  should  bewitch  them ;  and,  delicious 
as  is  the  water  in  the  stream  and  pools  above  the  hot 
springs,  teeming  with  fish,  no  animal  was  allowed  to 
drink  it,  because  it  was  warm,  and  the  convoy  were 
daily  watered  at  some  dirty  rain-pools  above  the  pass. 


WADY  z'gara.  269 

Our  men  were  only  reduced  to  submission  in  the  mat- 
ter of  stajnng  here  by  a  reference  to  their  contract, 
and  the  assurance  that,  if  they  threw  obstacles  in  our 
way,  they  would  but  prolong  our  sojourn. 

At  length  we  started,  with  a  Beni  Hamideh  sheik  for 
our  only  guide,  and  a  muleteer  with  the  photograph- 
ic apparatus.  We  turned  upon  the  south  side,  and 
reached  the  lower  plateau,  or  terrace,  in  an  hour  ex- 
actly. The  chinks  and  crannies  of  the  rocks  abound- 
ed in  new  and  interesting  plants,  among  which  the 
crane's-bill  was  conspicuous.  Just  before  we  started, 
an  intelligent  Beni  Sakk'r  brought  in  a  geranium 
which  even  he  recognized  as  rare  and  curious,  and 
which  he  had  not  before  seen.  It  was  an  exquisite 
plant,  with  rich  crimson  petals,  and  the  centre  of  the 
calyx  a  deep  purple.  The  singular  sulphur-loving 
crucifer  was  plentiful,  and  our  botanist  was  bewilder- 
ed and  overpowered  by  the  wild  profusion  of  floral 
novelties. 

Arrived  at  the  terrace,  we  found  it  a  wide,  stony 
ledge,  quite  flat,  and  well  covered  with  herbage,  ex- 
tending back  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  and  875  feet 
above  the  river's  bed  at  the  point  where  we  climbed. 
The  northern  side  of  the  cleft  opposite  to  us  descends 
without  any  such  break,  from  the  centre  of  the  mount- 
ains to  the  bottom.  Eiding  due  south,  we  scrambled 
up  the  outer  ridge  of  the  inclosing  range;  and  in  an 
hour  more  we  were  on  the  water-shed  of  the  pass, 
looking  down  into  the  next  wady,  a  stupendous  ra- 
vine, very  short,  and  beginning  most  abruptly  from  a 


270  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

scarped  cleft  in  the  Moab  range,  which  suddenly  be- 
comes a  sheer  precipice,  slightly  overhanging,  800  feet 
high,  and  which  must  in  rainy  weather  be  a  magnifi- 
cent water-fall.     It  is  named  Wady  Z'gara. 

The  gorge  seems  to  go  down  to  the  Dead  Sea, 
which  could  not  be  more  than  four  or  five  miles  dis- 
tant in  a  straight  line,  by  a  series  of  steps,  3800  feet ; 
and  at  the  mouth  of  the  wady  we  could  see  the  little 
green  plain  and  the  heap  of  stones  which  mai'k  the 
site  of  Zareth-shahar,  or  Zara,  the  only  town  of  Reu- 
ben on  the  shore. 

The  western  shore  of  the  lake  was  spread  before  us 
from  the  northern  almost  to  the  southern  end,  and  the 
rugged  and  barren-looking  plateau  of  Judea  seemed 
to  lie  far  below  us.  Jerusalem,  Bethlehem,  and  the 
hills  of  Hebron,  the  dark  oasis  of  Engedi,  all  stood 
out  clearly  before  us.  To  the  north  there  stretched 
the  plain  of  Jordan,  shining  bare,  sulphurous,  and 
desolate,  with  a  silver  thread  issuing  from  the  desert 
waste  into  the  sea.  One  dark-green  patch  alone  re- 
lieved its  death-like  pallor — the  green  oasis  of  Jeri- 
cho. Mount  Gilead  stood  out  to  the  north,  but  the 
haze  prevented  our  enjoying  a  further  view,  and  we 
watched  a  thunder-storm  bursting  over  Jerusalem. 

Descending  to  the  south,  we  rode  round  the  head 
of  Wady  Z'gara,  on  the  brink  of  the  rocky  ledge, 
where  the  wady  suddenly  becomes  an  abyss  ;  and  as 
our  horses  walked  or  ambled  on  the  fringe  of  rock, 
not  more  than  three  feet  wide,  at  the  edge  of  the 
crescent-shaped  fall,  overhanging  it  instead  of  retir- 


RUINS  OF  m'khaur.  271 

ing,  it  needed  a  steady  head  to  look  down,  with  scarce 
a  foot-breadth  between  the  horse's  steps  and  the  edge. 

Mounting  the  next  ridge,  which  runs  westward 
from  the  backbone  range  of  Moab,  we  soon  came  on 
an  old  Roman  road,  which  had  formed  a  paved  way 
from  the  Callirrhoe  to  the  Herodian  fortress,  but 
which  is  now  merely  a  rugged  line  of  upturned 
squared  stones. 

Following  by  its  side,  we  passed  a  bold,  prominent 
cone,  with  flattened  top,  and  an  immense  heap  of 
stones,  the  remains  of  some  old  city  on  the  ridge  at 
its  shoulder,  and  soon  after  reached  the  ruins  of 
M'khaur — the  town,  not  the  fortress.  They  covered 
perhaps  a  larger  area  than  any  site  we  had  yet  visit- 
ed ;  but  though  we  rode  through  and  through,  we 
could  not  find  a  single  relic  worth  photographing. 

The  ruins  occupy  a  group  of  undulating  hillocks, 
and  cover,  in  solid  mass,  more  than  a  square  mile  of 
ground.  The  place  can  never  have  been  strategically 
defensible,  and  must  have  depended  for  its  security 
on  the  castle  above.  Round  the  ruins,  on  all  sides, 
are  gentle  slopes,  rising  into  the  surrounding  and 
higher  hills. 

These  slopes  are  all  cultivated  for  corn  (rather  a 
novel  sight  to  us)  by  the  Hamideh,  whose  neighbor- 
hood was  also  indicated  by  the  equally  unusual  oc- 
currence of  a  small  herd  of  horned  cattle  feedino-. 
Among  these  rugged  mountains  we  are  out  of  the 
land  of  camels,  and  are  in  the  hill  country  of  cows 
and  asses. 


272  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

One  ruin,  M'khcaur,  possessed,  in  common  with  the 
more  eastern  Moabite  cities,  a  small  temple  toward 
the  sunrising,  on  exactly  the  same  plan,  and  of  the 
same  size,  as  those  already  described  at  Zebib  and  Um 
Weleed.  It  is  plain,  therefore,  that,  up  to  a  period 
not  far  removed  from  its  final  destruction,  fanatic 
as  may  have  been  its  Jewish  population,  there  must 
have  been  a  large  proportion,  either  Greek  or  Syrian, 
who  enjoyed  full  liberty  to  practice  the  rites  of  the 
sun-god  worship. 

Having  looked  down  the  wells  of  M'khaur,  in  one 
of  which  we  found  water,  while  perhaps  over  a  hun- 
dred into  which  we  peered  were  dry  and  choked  up 
with  stones,  we  turned  to  the  north-west,  where,  sepa- 
rated from  us  by  a  narrow  and  deep  valley,  not  quite 
a  mile  across,  stood  the  ancient  fortress,  on  the  top  of 
a  conical  hill.  The  line  of  access  was  clearly  marked 
by  an  old  Roman  road,  the  line  of  which  we  followed, 
which  wound,  by  a  somewhat  circuitous  course,  to  the 
southward. 

Arrived  at  the  southern  shoulder  of  the  cone,  we 
skirted  its  base,  at  the  same  level  as  the  town  we  had 
left.  Below  us,  in  a  deep  valley  covered  with  rich 
herbage,  was  a  Bedouin  camp,  from  which  several 
armed  men  joined  us.  Riding  round  the  hill,  we 
climbed  a  lower  ridge  on  the  west  side,  whence  the 
summit  is  easily  accessible,  and  dismounted. 

The  citadel  was  placed  on  the  summit  of  the  cone, 
which  is  the  apex  of  a  long  flat  ridge  running  for 
more  than  a  mile  from  west  to  east.     The  whole  of 


DUNGEONS   OF   MACH^RUS.  273 

this  ridge  appears  to  have  been  one  extensive  for- 
tress, the  key  of  which  was  the  keep  on  the  top  of 
the  cone,  an  isolated  and  almost  impregnable  work, 
but  very  small,  being  circular,  and  exactly  one  hun- 
dred yards  in  diameter.  The  wall  of  circumvallation 
can  be  clearly  traced,  its  foundations  all  standing  out 
for  a  yard  or  two  above  the  surface ;  but  the  interior 
remains  are  few.  One  well  of  great  depth,  a  very 
large  and  deep  oblong  cemented  cistern,  with  the 
vaulting  of  the  roof  still  remaining,  and — most  inter- 
esting of  all — two  dungeons,  one  of  them  deep,  and 
its  sides  scarcely  broken  in,  were  the  only  remains 
clearly  to  be  defined.  That  these  were  dungeons, 
and  not  cisterns,  is  evidcHt  fror»  there  being  no  traces 
of  cement,  which  never  perishes  from  the  walls  of  an- 
cient reservoirs,  and  from  the  small  holes  still  visible 
in  the  masonry,  where  staples  of  wood  and  iron  had 
once  been  fixed.  One  of  these  must  surely  have  been 
the  prison-house  of  John  the  Baptist. 

Descending  on  the  western  side  150  yards,  by  a 
very  steep  slope,  we  reach  the  oblong  flat  plateau 
which  formed  the  fortified  city,  at  the  east  end  of 
which,  just  under  the  keep,  is  the  wonderful  pile  of 
stones,  the  carefully  -  collected  material  of  the  once 
formidable  fortress. 

There  is  a  weird-like  desolation  about  it,  though 
not  the  savage  nakedness  of  Sebbeh  (Masada) ;  for 
vegetation  is  abundant,  and  the  hills  are  all  covered 
with  herbage.  Yet  that  heap  stands  out  most  spec- 
trally, 3800  feet  above  the  Dead  Sea.     Behind  us  rose 


274 


THE    LAND   OF    MOAB. 


several  higher,  but  rounded  and  featureless,  summits ; 
and  Jebel  Attarus  was  hid  by  intervening  hills.  The 
view  in  front,  of  the  west  side  of  the  Dead  Sea  and 


%*n3W'f'i'>l>^''**«9>f§0. 


NO.  28.      PLAN    OF   MACH^RUS,  AND   THE   RAVINES   ROUND   IT. 

A,  Square  Fort,    b,  Citadel,    c— d,  Western  Valley  of  Josephus. 


the  hill  country  of  Judea,  with  Jerusalem  and  Nebi 
Samwil,  was  simply  grand,  the  details  similar  to  those 
of  the  view  from  the  ridge  we  had  crossed  in  the 
morning. 

Walking  along  the  ridges  to  the  west,  we  found,  at 
the  distance  of  a  mile,  the  foundations  of  two  square 
towers,  which  had  evidently  been  the  outworks  of 
Herod's  citadel.  Our  examination  was  interrupted 
by  a  heavy  thunder-storm,  from  which,  however,  we 
found  a  convenient  refuge  in  a  cave  on  the  east  side 


HISTORY   OF   MACH^KUS.  275 

of  the  cone,  large  enough  to  shelter  uU  our  party  and 
our  horses. 

The  history  of  Machaerus  is  interwoven  with  that 
of  the  last  struggle  of  the  Jews  against  Kome,  and 
its  site  is  accurately  described  by  Josephus.  Pliny 
also  mentions  it,  but  with  less  accuracy,  placing  it, 
correctly  enough,  to  the  west  of  the  Arabian  nomads, 
but  to  the  south,  instead  of  the  east,  of  the  Dead  Sea. 
lie  also  calls  it  the  second  fortress  of  the  Jews,  next 
after  Jerusalem  (Pliny,  v.,  16).  But  that  his  state- 
ment of  its  position,  south  of  the  lake,  is  an  inadvert- 
ence, is  evident  from  the  subsequent  paragraph,  in 
which  he  states  that  it  is  on  the  same  side  as  the 
springs  of  Callirrhoe.  Machaerus  is  also  mentioned 
by  Strabo  (lib.  xvi.)  among  the  fortresses  on  the  east 
side,  not  far  from  Jericho. 

But  it  is  from  Josephus  that  we  derive  the  fullest 
account  of  this  fortress  and  its  eventful  history.  It 
was  one  of  the  many  places  east  of  Jordan  fortified  by 
the  Asmonean  dynasty,  at  the  period  when  the  Jews, 
under  the  Maccabees,  had  recovered  more  absolute 
power  over  these  outlying  regions  than  their  nation 
liad  ever  exercised  since  the  disruption  of  the  king- 
dom after  the  death  of  Solomon — the  period  to  which 
we  may  most  reasonably  assign  the  building  of  those 
crowded  cities  whose  ruins  stud  the  plains  and  hills 
of  Moab. 

Alexander,  the  son  of  Hyrcanus  I.,  the  builder  of 
the  remarkable  castle  of  Arak  el  Emir,  was  its  found- 
er; and  after  his  death  his  widow,  Alexandra,  hand- 


276  THE   LAND    OF    MOAB. 

ed  it  over  to  her  son  Aristobulus.  Taken  and  de- 
stroyed by  G-abinius,  it  was  restored  immediately  af- 
terward. But  it  was  Herod  the  Great,  the  builder  of 
Masada  and  Herodium,  who  rendered  it  the  most  for- 
midable fortress  of  the  eastern  side.  Perceiving  at 
once  its  importance,  as  the  south-eastern  outpost  of 
his  kingdom,  he  lavished  all  the  engineering  resources 
of  the  age  on  its  fortifications,  and  laid  up  within  its 
walls  an  enormous  supply  of  military  material,  and 
provisions  for  the  support  of  a  besieged  garrison. 

Josephus  describes  its  position  at  some  length,  and 
certainly  with  some  exaggeration.  But  the  details 
of  his  description  are  easily  identified  on  the  spot. 
He  states  ("  Jewish  War,"  vii.,  6)  that  the  walled  por- 
tion of  the  place  was  situated  on  a  very  rocky  hill, 
elevated  to  a  great  height,  thus  clearly  distinguishing 
between  the  fortress  on  the  ridge,  just  described,  and 
the  wide  open  town  which  we  had  previously  visited. 

The  historian  next  describes,  but  neither  distinctly 
nor  accurately,  the  four  valleys  which  form  its  de- 
fense. That  which  cuts  it  to  the  west  he  states  to 
be  sixty  stadia  in  length,  as  far  as  the  lake,  agreeing 
pretty  accurately  with  our  calculation  of  its  distance 
from  the  sea.  This  he  considers  the  deepest  of  all  the 
valleys;  but  he  represents  three  of  them  as  so  deep 
that  the  eye  can  not  reach  their  bottom,  and  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  throw  an  embankment  across 
them.  The  latter  statement  is  certainly  true,  and  the 
former  is  an  ordinary  Oriental  hyperbole;  and  if,  as  I 
conceive,  Josephus  speaks  not  from  personal  acquaint- 


STRANGE    PLANT   OF   JOSEPHUS.  277 

ance  with  the  locality,  but  from  the  descriptions  of 
others,  it  is  very  possible  that  he  has  confused  the 
deep  valley  to  the  north  with  the  ravine  of  the  Wady 
Z'gara  just  beyond  it,  which  is  far  more  abrupt,  and 
down  the  dizzy  gorge  of  which  it  is  not  easy  to  gaze 
steadily  from  its  edge. 

Strategically,  the  valleys  north  and  south  may  have 
been  impassable;  but  they  are  not  so  precipitous  as 
might  be  understood  from  the  description.  The  val- 
ley to  the  eastward,  a  branch  from  the  southern  gorge, 
is  certainly  not  less  than  Josephus  represents  it — one 
hundred  cubits — and  is  very  steep. 

The  wall  of  the  citadel  is  stated  to  have  been  IGO 
cubits  in  height,  and  to  have  embraced  the  royal  pal- 
ace. Of  these,  of  course,  there  are  no  traces,  except- 
ing the  foundations  and  the  enormous  pile  of  stones 
mentioned  above. 

Still  less  can  we  identify  the  gigantic  species  of  rue, 
which  Josephus  describes  as  large  as  a  fig-tree,  with 
its  marvelous  properties.  Some  light  is,  however, 
thrown  on  the  myth  by  the  description  in  the  next 
paragraph  of  the  root  Baaras^  which  is  of  a  flame  col- 
or, growing  in  a  place  of  the  same  name,  evidently  in 
the  Callirrhoe,  which  the  historian  speaks  of  as  "the 
valley  that  encompasses  the  place  on  the  north  side." 
It  is  needless  to  repeat  the  grotesque  account  of  the 
properties  of  this  plant,  or  the  method  of  obtaining  it. 
We  imagined  we  had  discovered  the  plant  which 
gave  origin  to  the  fable,  in  the  strange  crucifer,  grow- 
ing by  the  baths  on  sulphur  deposits,  with  root,  leaves, 

19 


278  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB, 

bark,  and  blossom,  all  of  the  odor  and  color  of  sul- 
phur. 

The  siege  of  Machaerus  was  made  by  L.  Bassus  on 
the  east,  the  only  side  where  an  intrenchment  could 
be  attempted.  The  garrison  at  once  abandoned  the 
lower  city  to  its  fate,  and  concentrated  all  their  efforts 
on  the  defense  of  the  well-provisioned  fortress.  By 
incessant  sorties  they  interrupted  and  bafSed  the  Ro- 
man works;  and  hence  we  find  no  remains,  as  at 
Masada,  of  the  great  mound  of  the  assailants.  The 
place  at  length  capitulated,  in  order  to  save  the  life 
of  a  young,  noble,  and  popular  leader,  Eleazar,  who 
had  been  captured  by  the  Romans  in  one  of  the  sal- 
lies; and  thenceforward  Machaerus  never  appears  in 
history. 

But  its  all-absorbing  interest  to  us  is,  of  course,  its 
connection  with  the  imprisonment  and  death  of  John 
the  Baptist.  It  is  curious  to  note  that  Josephus  re- 
cords it  as  the  fortress  to  which  Herod  relegated  his 
wife,  the  daughter  of  Aretas,  king  of  the  Arabians, 
when  she  discovered  and  resented  his  guilty  passion 
for  his  sister-in-law  Herodias;  and  that  it  was  also 
selected  by  him  as  the  prison  of  the  Baptist,  perse- 
cuted on  her  account. 

There  has  been  some  difficulty  raised  as  to  the  cor- 
rectness of  this  statement,  because  Josephus  immedi- 
ately afterward  ("  Antiq.,"  xviii.,  v.  2)  adds  that  Ma- 
chaerus, at  the  time  Herod  sent  away  his  wife,  was 
subject  to  Aretas.  He  had  before  stated  that  it  was 
on  the  frontier  of  the  kingdoms  of  Aretas  and  Herod. 


HAMIDEH   CAMP.  279 

But  as  the  queen  immediately  fled  from  it  to  her 
father's  residence  at  Petra,  the  probable  explanation 
would  seem  to  be  that  Herod,  during  the  time  of  his 
connection  with  Aretas,  had  allowed  him  to  occupy 
it,  though  he  soon  afterward  resumed  it.  We  have 
seen  already  that  he  had  fortified  it,  and  laid  in  great 
stores  of  warlike  materials:  and  he  visited  it  in  his 
last  illness.  It  is,  therefore,  in  the  highest  degree  im- 
probable that  he  ever  allowed  it  to  pass  completely 
out  of  his  hands;  and  the  account  of  John's  impris- 
onment is  too  precise  to  .admit  of  the  supposition  of  a 
mistake  on  the  part  of  Josephus,  respecting  an  event 
which  must  have  attracted  the  deepest  interest  and 
attention.  We  can  not,  therefore,  relinquish  the  con- 
viction that,  standing  on  Machserus,  we  are  on  the 
scene  of  one  of  the  most  thrilling  and  tragic  events 
in  Gospel  history. 

As  we  came  down  from  the  citadel,  the  Hamideh 
from  the  camp  below,  who  had  attached  themselves 
to  us  for  the  whole  morning,  and  had  most  civilly 
attended  us,  insisted  on  our  going  to  the  bottom  of 
the  southern  valley,  to  visit  their  camp.  As  it  lay 
not  far  out  of  our  course,  it  was  difficult  to  refuse 
their  hospitality.  They  were  shepherds,  certainly  not 
rich,  but  knew  how  to  give  welcome  to  strangers. 
About  a  dozen  tents  were  stretched  in  a  row  along 
the  bottom,  where  there  was  only  level  space  enough 
in  front  to  tether  the  black  cattle.  These  form  the 
chief  wealth  of  the  clan,  and  are  brought  down,  like 
the  sheep,  from  the  mountains  every  night.     Horses 


280  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

thej  had  none.  The  men  were  all,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  our  hosts,  absent  with  their  herds;  and  as  we 
passed  along,  the  women  and  troops  of  little  children 
at  once  disappeared. 

We  were  ushered  into  the  farthest  and  largest  tent, 
which  had  the  women's  apartments  curtained  off  at 
each  wing,  and  was  entirely  destitute  of  furniture. 
Carpets  were  promptly  brought  from  within,  and 
spread  in  a  circle,  and  a  huge  bowl  of  buttermilk  at 
once  passed  round.  Most  grateful  was  the  beverage. 
We  expected  nothing  more,  and  motioned  to  depart; 
but  our  hosts  solemnly  signaled  to  us  to  remain.  In 
vain  we  pointed  to  the  sun,  already  turning  to  the 
westward,  and  reckoned  the  hours  we  had  to  ride. 
The  old  man,  who  seemed  to  be  the  chief,  sitting  next 
Hayne,  afifectionately  embraced  his  neck,  and  gently 
stroked  his  stomach,  while  his  guest  despondingly 
mused  over  the  plants  he  should  miss  if  we  had  to 
hurry  back  under  the  shades  of  evening. 

Soon  savory  fumes  were  wafted  over  the  black  hair 
partition  which  shut  in  the  women's  apartment.  The 
wife  of  our  host  made  her  appearance,  actually  sat 
down  in  front  of  us,  and  talked  wath  our  Hamideh 
sheik,  to  whose  tribe  this  camp  belonged.  She  was 
fair,  and  had  remarkably  fine  and  well-cut  features, 
with  a  refined  cast  of  countenance,  and  must  have 
been  beautiful  when  young.  She  was,  apparently, 
about  forty  years  of  age.  We  heard  her  recount  the 
ailments  of  an  invalid  who,  as  far  as  I  could  under- 
stand, was  suffering  from  liver  complaint.     Being  told 


HAMIDEH   HOSPITALITY.  281 

I  was  a  "  hakeem,"  the  sick  man  came  out,  and  detail- 
ed his  symptoms.  Being  without  an  interpreter,  I 
was  obliged  to  rely  on  my  own  Arabic  lore,  and  de- 
sired them  to  send  the  next  day  for  such  medicines 
as  I  could  supply. 

At  length  the  savory  dishes  appeared — first,  a  great 
pile  of  smoking  hot  bread,  or  rather  flat  cakes,  deli- 
ciously  baked,  and  the  best  we  had  tasted  since  w§ 
left  home;  next,  a  great  wooden  bowl  with  several 
pounds  of  fresh  butter,  clean,  and  just  churned. 
Fresh  butter  we  had  never  found  in  our  travels  be- 
fore the  Zerka,  and  it  was  indeed  a  luxury.  Taking 
a  flat  loaf  apiece,  with  each  morsel  we  pinched  up, 
Arab  fashion,  a  good  lump  of  butter;  and  I  do  not 
think  we  got  through  much  less  than  half  a  pound 
of  the  dainty  per  head.  The  presence  of  a  herd  of 
black  cattle — unwonted  sight — on  the  slopes  behind 
explained  the  phenomenon  of  butter.  A  little  to- 
bacco and  shot  was  all  the  compliment  we  could  offer 
in  return ;  but  we  were  able  to  satisfy  the  hopes  of 
the  children,  who  toddled  round  the  circle  for  a  kiss, 
with  a  silver  piece  for  each  ;  and  we  left  in  good  odor 
with  our  wild  hosts. 

We  found  an  easier  route  by  the  head  of  the  Wady 
Z'gara,  on  our  return,  and  accomplished  the  ride  back 
in  two  hours  and  a  half  On  the  top  of  the  ridge,  be- 
tween M'khaur  and  Z'gara,  we  had  a  yet  finer  view 
than  in  the  morning.  Here,  for  the  first  and  only 
time,  I  have  looked  on  the  Dead  Sea  in  unbroken 
length  from  south  to  north.     Description  is  out  of 


282  THE   LAND    OF    MOAB. 

the  question.  Beneath  was  spread  the  Lisan  —  the 
salt  mountain  and  the  opening  of  Wady  Zuweirah 
to  the  south ;  to  the  north,  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan, 
with  the  dreary  Ghor,  the  fertile  Jericho,  and  the 
cleft  of  the  Kelt  up  to  Jerusalem.  Along  the  farther 
shore  were  Sebbeh,  Engedi,  Feshkhah,  and  the  range 
of  white  cliffs,  backed  by  the  rugged  hills  of  Judea 
seamed  with  fissures.  A  grand  thunder-storm  clear- 
ing, gave  shadows  and  rain  mists,  and  lent  distance 
and  indefiniteness  to  the  view.  Far  to  the  right  was 
Kurn  Surtabeh,  half-way  to  the  lake  of  Galilee,  and 
Mount  Gilead  to  the  north.  Still  the  haze  veiled 
Hermon.  The  foreground  was  one  of  surpassing 
grandeur;  peaks  and  unfathomable-looking  ravines 
—  red,  white,  and  black,  as  sandstone,  limestone,  or 
basalt,  predominated — seemed  to  tumble  in  wild  con- 
fusion, one  on  the  top  of  another,  till  they  plunged 
into  the  blue  waters  of  the  sea;  and  still  the  little 
green  oasis  of  Zara  showed,  in  the  opening  of  the 
chasm,  in  front  of  us. 

We  saw  many  rare  and  interesting  birds  to-day, 
and  many  fine  plants  rewarded  Hayne's  enthusiasm. 
The  scarlet  anemone  carpeted  the  higher  grounds,  the 
equally  gorgeous  ranunculus  the  lower  dells.  Sev- 
eral pairs  of  Tristram's  grakle,  with  their  ringing, 
bell-like  whistle,  showed  themselves,  but,  when  shot, 
fell  hopelessly  into  the  abyss;  and  a  large  flock  of 
over  a  hundred  of  the  rare  wedge-tailed  raven  {Corvus 
affinis)  wheeled  for  half  an  hour  over  our  heads  as 
we  descended  to  the  Callirrhoe. 


STONE   CIRCLES.  283 

In  the  course  of  this  excursion  we  found,  especially 
on  the  plateau,  several  curious  circles  of  stones,  simi- 
lar to  those  which  have  been  described  in  the  wilder- 
ness of  Sinai,  and  evidently  the  work  of  the  prehis- 
toric inhabitants  of  the  country.  They  are  not  so 
large  as  the  stone  circle  near  Bethel,  known  as  the 
stones  of  Beitin,  and  are  composed  entirely  of  basaltic 
boulders.  In  this  district  we  observed  seven  or  eight 
such  circles,  and  repeatedly  came  upon  them  after- 
ward; but  here  they  were  not  associated  with  the 
dolmens,  so  abundant  to  the  north  of  the  Callirrhoe. 
The  largest  blocks  were  not  above  four  feet  in  diam- 
eter, and  were  neatly  arranged  in  a  circle  of  a  hun- 
dred yards  or  more  in  diameter.  The  small  size  of 
the  stones  seems  to  show  that  the  men  who  raised 
them  had  no  idea  of  quarrying  blocks  for  this  pur- 
pose, but  contented  themselves  with  the  material  that 
came  easiest  to  hand.  But  the  absence  of  dolmens 
suggests  that  they  may  be  the  work  of  a  tribe  whose 
mode  of  sepulture  was  different  from  that  of  their 
neighbors,  as  here  were  many  small  tumuli,  varjnng 
in  character  from  those  which  occur  in  the  dolmen 
district. 

Another  expedition  from  the  hot  springs  was  to 
Attarus,  the  ancient  Ataroth,  situated  about  three  or 
four  miles  east  of  Macha3rus,  and  to  Kureiyat,  an 
ancient  Kiriathaim,  Kirjathaim,  or  Kerioth  (Numb. 
xxxii.,  37 ;  Josh,  xii.,  19 ;  Ezek.  xxv.,  9 ;  Jer.  xl viii.,  24). 

Three  of  our  horses  had  been  missing  for  three 
days,  supposed  to  be  stolen ;  and  we  had  some  hopes 


284  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

that,  if  they  had  only  strayed,  they  might  be  recov- 
ered on  the  line  of  country  which  leads  by  Attarus 
to  the  highlands.  Charged  urgently  by  our  mule- 
teers to  sweep  the  country  for  their  lost  beasts,  we  felt 
ourselves  like  Saul  traveling  after  his  father's  asses. 
The  owner  of  one  of  the  horses  wept  like  a  child  as 
he  implored  us  to  find  them.  Poor  fellow,  his  whole 
fortune  had  been  invested  in  his  horse,  and  he  owed 
half  the  price  in  Jerusalem,  where,  returning  horse- 
less, he  must  go  to  prison  for  his  debt;  and  out  of 
the  three  shillings  a  day  he  received  from  us,  he 
could  do  little  to  make  up  the  money. 

Our  fame  as  hakims  had  spread  by  this  time,  and 
no  less  than  three  parties  did  we  meet  on  their  way 
to  camp  for  medical  aid.  The  first  part  of  our  road 
was  the  same  as  that  to  Machaerus ;  but  when  we  had 
mounted  to  the  crest  of  the  ridge,  we  left  the  hill  of 
M'khaur  on  our  right,  and  wound  round  the  next  set 
of  hills  by  the  side  of  an  ancient  roadway,  of  which 
the  engineering,  well  managed,  as  it  skirted  each 
shoulder,  though  now  worse  than  useless,  could  be 
easily  traced.  The  road  was  evidently  in  connection 
with  the  one  which  led  down  from  Machagrus  and 
Callirrhoe  to  Zara  and  the  sea.  We  passed  an  old 
site.  El  Hamman,  and,  winding  among  deep-cut  val- 
leys, we  crossed  a  charming  little  stream  in  a  minia- 
ture ravine,  Wady  'K'nif,  an  affluent  of  the  Callirrhoe. 

The  little  wadys,  rocky  and  green,  were  full  of 
bushes,  and  on  the  slopes  were  patches  of  cultivation. 
Wheat,  barley,  and  tobacco  were  laid  down,  as  we 


ATAKOTH.  OK   ATTAR  US.  285 

mounted  2500  feet  above  our  camp,  and  3500  feet 
above  the  sea.  Turning  sharply  to  the  south,  a  steep 
ascent  brought  us  to  Kirbet  Attarus. 

Uiiwrought  stones  lying  in  heaps,  ranges  of  broken 
walls,  lines  of  foundations  scattered  over  a  long  ridge, 
large  caverns  and  circular  cisterns — such  is  all  that 
remains  of  Ataroth.  Out  of  the  caves  were,  general- 
ly, growing  fig-trees  or  gnarled  old  terebinths.  A 
new  feature  in  the  district  into  which  we  had  entered 
were  the  number  of  isolated  and  venerable  trees  with 
which  it  was  dotted,  chiefly  terebinths,  none  of  them 
in  woods  or  groves,  but  growing  on  hill-tops,  sides,  or 
valleys,  alike — everywhere  singly,  solitary  sentinels, 
hanging  out  signals  of  distress  to  their  next  neighbor. 

The  view  from  the  ruined  keep  is  wide  and  grand. 
The  day  was  superb,  a  fresh  breeze  and  warm  sun,  a 
delicious  air,  like  one  of  the  first  days  of  summer  in 
England,  the  horizon  perfectly  clear;  Bethlehem  and 
Jerusalem,  Gerizim  and  Gilboa,  visible  with  the  glass, 
across  the  sea  ;  Shihan  peering  over  the  plain  on  the 
south ;  while  eastward  many  a  little  dot  on  the  wide 
plain  betokened  to  us  the  position  of  the  places  among 
which  we  had  been  roaming  for  the  last  month,  as 
Urn  Easas  and  Ziza.  But  the  castle  hill  of  Machae- 
rus,  only  three  or  four  miles  to  the  west,  was  shut  out 
by  the  intervening  range,  which  left  us  no  view  of  the 
gorge  of  the  Dead  Sea,  excepting  the  corner  by  the 
plain  of  Jericho. 

Though  Ataroth  has  been  on  the  top  of  a  hill,  yet 
the  summit  is  a  wide  flat  platform.     From  this  a  gen- 


286 


THE    LAND   OJ   MOAB. 


tie  slope  and  rise  leads  us,  by  the  side  of  an  ancieut 
Eoman  road,  through  a  park-like  country,  to  Jebel 
Attarus,  the  old  citadel,  distant  an  hour's  walk.  The 
fortress  is  actually  lower  than  the  town,  but,  being  an 
isolated  mamelon,  is  more  easily  defensible,  and  has 
evidently  been  strongly  fortified.     The  ride  was  in- 


NO.  29. 


TEBEBINTH-TREE   ON    ATTARUS. 


teresting  and  refreshing,  varied  by  patches  of  green 
corn  and  trees ;  and  though  the  terebinths  were  still 
bare  and  leafless,  the  almond -trees  were  already  in 
flower,  clothed  with  a  sheet  of  rosy  white,  to  say 
nothing   of  red-berried  Oriental    mistletoe   on   their 


VIEW    FROM   ATTARUS.  287 

limbs,  and  gorgeous  tulips  in  the  crannies  of  the 
rocks. 

The  view  from  Jebel  Attarus  is  much  more  cir- 
cumscribed than  that  from  the  town,  and  the  ruins 
have  no  special  feature  of  interest.  The  place,  is  a 
flat-topped  cone,  with  the  foundations  of  a  wall  which 
has  once  inclosed  the  whole  crest ;  and  an  enormous 
pile  of  stones  in  the  centre,  the  debris  of  some  very 
large  fort,  forms  a  cairn  some  thirty  feet  high.  By 
the  side  of  the  heap  grows  a  fine  old  terebinth. 

Jebel  Attarus  long  did  duty  for  Pisgah,  Burck- 
hardt,  passing  three  miles  to  the  eastward,  espied  the 
cairn  and  the  tree,  and  conjectured  them  to  be  the  re- 
mains of  the  altar  and  grove  of  Baal.  But  no  one 
had  mounted  the  hill. to  find  that  the  cairn  is  more 
than  three  hundred  yards  in  circumference,  and  that 
the  prospect  is  peculiarly  circumscribed.  It  is  also 
far  too  much  to  the  south  and  to  the  east. 

No  traces  of  building  exist  here,  other  than  the  fort 
itself.  There  is,  however,  an  admirable  view  of  the 
wadys  eastward,  which  feed  the  two  rivers  of  Moab. 
We  looked  northward  into  the  glen  at  the  junction 
of  the  Jiffar,  the  Habis,  and  the  Ma'in,  where  the 
three  form  the  Callirrhoe,  or  Zerka  Ma'in.  South- 
ward, we  traced  the  Arnon  cleft  from  Aroer  to  its 
mouth ;  and  we  could  satisfiictorily  ascertain  that  the 
intervening  country  was  featureless,  with  very  few 
ruins. 

We  have  often  found  that  the  Arabs  of  Moab,  like 
Roderick  Dhu's  men,  start  from  the  hill-sides  when 


288 


THE   LAND    OF   MOAB. 


least  expected.  Halt  for  a  few  minutes  anywhere, 
though  there  is  no  trace  of  human  existence  near, 
very  soon  some  Bedouins  will  spring  up.  Here,  as 
we  sat  down  to  lunch,  up  came  the  brother  and  moth- 
er of  Na'ur,  the  Hamideh  sheik,  our  solitary  guide, 
who  were  watching  their  cattle,  lest  they  should  stray 


NO.  30. 


TUE    ZEHKA    MA'IN. 


among  the  crops.  Then  came  a  stray  Beni  Sakk'r, 
an  old  acquaintance,  who  had  been  grievously  disap- 
pointed to  find  we  had  left  our  previous  halt,  while 
he,  on  hospitable  thoughts  intent,  had  hurried  off  to 
milk  his  camels  for  our  benefit.  He  had  followed  us 
three  miles,  and  firmly  refused  a  backsheesh. 


KlUIATHAIM    AND   ATAROTH. 


289 


But  the  most  satisfactory  recognition  was  that  of 
our  horses.     The  quick  eye  of  the  Hamideh  soon  es- 
pied three  horses  quietly  luxuriating  in  a  green  patch 
of  wheat  on  the  other  side  of  the  hill.     They  had 
wandered  far,  but  certainly  had  good  discrimination 
to  find  the  best  pasture.     Great  was  the  joy  of  Daoud, 
while  the  Hamideh  kissed  us  all  round  in  an  ecstasy 
of  delio-ht.     But  three  days  of  the  sweets  of  liberty 
had  not  yet  wearied  our   steeds,  and   it  was   only 
with  much  caution,  when  one  of  their  number  had 
been  entrapped,  that  they  were   wheedled  into  fol- 
lowing our  cavalcade,  at  a  careful  distance,  back  to 

Kureiyat  was  the  next  place  to  be  visited,  about 
three  miles  south-east  of  Attarus,  and  situated  on  sis- 
ter hillocks,  half  a  mile  apart,  both  covered  by  the 
ancient  city.      The  ruins  are  extensive,  but  utterly 
featureless;   and  between  them  and  the  Arnon  are 
very  few  remains  of  any  extent.      We  can  scarcely 
doubt    that   this    is    either   Kerioth    or   Kiriathaim. 
Whichever  it  be,  the  twin  hills  explain  the  Hebrew 
dual  and  plural  terminations,  and  render  superfluous 
the  ingenious  conjectures  which  have  been  formed 
on  the  presumption  that  the  dual  termination  was 
merely  an  attempt  to  Hebraize  a  foreign  sound.     A 
southern  Kureitun,  near  Kerak,  also  a  twin  town,  has 
already  been  described  (p.  114).     One  of  these  sets  of 
ruins  is,  therefore,  probably  the  Kerioth,  the  other  the 
Kiriathaim  of  Jer.  xlviii.,  23,  24.     The  Kureiyeh  of 
the  Hauran,  near   Bozrah,  seems  f\ir   too  distant  to 


290  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

have  been  grouped  with  the  other  Moabite  towns 
named  along  with  Kiriathaim. 

Eusebius  mentions  Kiriathaim  as  close  to  the  Ba- 
ris,  and  ten  Eoman  miles  west  of  Medeba.  As  this 
Baris  is  probably  the  same  as  the  Baaras  of  Josephus, 
it  must  be  either  the  Zerka  Ma'in  or  one  of  its  afflu- 
ents ;  and  the  account  of  Eusebius  is,  therefore,  not 
very  incorrect.  Burckhardt  has  suggested  the  incon- 
siderable ruins  of  Et  Teim,  near  Medeba,  as  Kiria- 
thaim ;  but  he  did  not  visit  them.  We  found  them 
insignificant,  and  I  can  see  no  ground  for  the  conjec- 
ture, nor  any  tenable  argument  for  rejecting  the  claims 
of  Kureiyat  to  be  the  Scriptural  site. 

Equally  clear  seems  the  identification  of  Kirbet 
Attarus  and  Jebel  Attarus  with  the  Scriptural  Ata- 
roth  and  Atroth  (Numb,  xxxii.,  34,  35),  or  Atroth- 
shophan.  Here  we  find  the  same  name  repeated.  On 
the  spot  we  find  two  places  of  the  same  name  two 
miles  apart.  The  objection  which  has  been  raised 
against  the  identification  (B.  D.  in  loco),  that  Ataroth 
is  said  to  have  been  taken  and  built  by  Gad,  whose 
southern  frontier  was  Heshbon,  falls  to  the  ground, 
when  we  observe  (Numb,  xxxii.,  34)  that  precisely 
the  same  objection  would  apply  to  Dibon  and  Aroer, 
still  farther  south  than  Attarus,  and  about  which 
there  is  no  question.  The  true  solution  seems  to  be 
that  Gad  and  Reuben  were  much  intermingled,  like 
Judah  and  Simeon. 


VISIT   TO   ZAKA. 


291 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Visit  to  Zara,  the  ancient  Zareth-shahar.-Volcanic  Soil.-Kich  Bot- 
any-Descent  to  Dead  Sea.- Ancient  Road.- Scouts  ahead.- 
False  Alarm. -Beni  Sakk'r  and  their  Camels.- Vegetation  and 
Springs  of  Zara.-Hebrew  City.-Baths,  hot  and  cold.-Birds.- 
Along  the  Shore.-Rugged  Path.-Mouth  of  the  Callirrhoe. -Ro- 
mantic Glen.-The  Ibex-hunter. -A  rough  Scramble. -Water-fall. 
-Home  at  last. -Sunday  in  the  Gorge. -The  Ibex  and  its  Habits. 
-Unsuccessful  Hunt. -The  Hakim. -Medical  Cases. -Ornitholo- 
gy of  the  Callirrhoe.-Our  Postman  robbed. -Topography  of  the 
District. 

Having  climbed  the  hills  and  traced  the  feeders 
of  the  Callirrhoe  to  their  mountain  sources,  our  next 
aim  was  to  get  down  to  the  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea 
by  the  unvisited  Zara,  the  "  Zareth-shahar  in  the 
mount  of  the  valley"  of  Joshua  xiii.,  19;  and  after- 
ward to  explore  the  coast  about  the  mouth  of  the 

Callirrhoe. 

Warned  by  our  guides  that  this  could  not  be  ac- 
complished in  one  day,  and  that  the  roads  were  all 
but  impracticable,  we  started,  prepared  to  sleep  out, 
with  a  compact  supply  of  good  food;  water  we  were 
sure  to  find.  Vainly  did  our  Arabs  protest  against 
the  idea  of  sleeping  in  the  open,  and  conjured  up 
alarms  of  Beni  Atiyeh  and  all  sorts  of  "  Titchmanns," 
or  murderous  enemies,  who  were  in  the  habit  of 
prowling  in  this  no-man's  land.     We  knew  that,  ac- 


292  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB, 

companied  by  Zadam,  we  need  not  fear  any  thing 
worse  than  an  attempt  at  horse-stealing. 

The  sun  had  not  risen  when  we  were  off;  and  on 
making  the  platform  on  the  top  of  the  pass,  we  turn- 
ed toward  the  south-west.  The  plain  was  every- 
where covered  with  broken  fragments  of  basalt,  few 
of  tbem  more  than  ten  pounds  weight.  We  had  with 
us  Zadam  and  two  muleteers  with  camera,  etc.,  mount- 
ed ;  while  two  Beni  Sakk'r  and  three  Hamideh  on 
foot,  with  their  long  guns,  completed  the  party. 

At  the  end  of  the  plateau  we  begin  to  ascend  hills 
covered  with  a  mass  of  scoria  and  volcanic  cinders, 
many  in  large  blocks,  but  with  no  solid  basalt  on  the 
top  of  the  limestone.  We  now  cross  the  head  of  two 
gorges,  which  start  from  the  same  point,  to  join  the 
Callirrhoe,  one  on  either  side  of  the  great  basaltic 
cliff  which  bars  the  valley  to  the  south-west  of  our 
camp.  Soon  nodules  of  hard  basalt  are  mixed  with 
the  lighter  scoriaB.  We  pass  the  crest,  and  are  treat- 
ed with  another  series  of  landscapes  of  bewildering 
grandeur;  while  at  our  feet  every  black  boulder  is 
framed  in  the  loveliest  flowers — a  setting,  springing 
one  can  hardly  see  whence,  and  living  one  can  hard- 
ly think  how.  '  Geranium,  iris,  ranunculus,  red  pop- 
py, and  composite  plants  of  endless  variety,  especially 
the  geraniaceae,  delight  us  all,  and  glut  Hayne's  col- 
lecting cases. 

We  now  leave  the  cinders  and  crude  basalt,  which 
looks  just  like  a  mountain  of  slag  left  by  some  Titanic 
blast-furnaces.     The  descent  to  the  Dead  Sea  from 


DESCENT  TO   THE   DEAD   SEA.  293 

hence  is  just  over  2000  feet — easy  at  first,  but  when 
we  leave  the  limestone  and  come  on  the  red  sand- 
stone, rugged  and  precipitous.  The  strata,  as  usual 
at  this  distance  (six  miles)  from  the  sea,  begin  to  dip 
at  an  angle  of  45°.  An  old  Roman  or  Jewish  road 
is  clearly  seen,  winding  in  zigzag  along  the  slopes, 
and  here  and  there  carefully  built  up  and  paved,  but 
now,  for  that  very  reason,  wholly  useless  and  imprac- 
ticable, being  reduced  to  a  rough  ridge  of  stones. 
Near  the  top  of  the  ridge  are  the  ruins  of  some  old 
fortress,  composed  entirely  of  basalt,  and  without  a 
name.  Not  far  from  it  are  several  stone  circles,  yet 
earlier  remains,  none  of  the  material  having  been 
shaped  or  dressed,  and  identical  in  character  with  the 
primeval  circles  mentioned  in  the  last  chapter. 

When  we  have  descended  about  seven  hundred 
feet,  our  course,  for  path  there  is  none,  becomes  very 
difficult  among  the  red  sandstone  cliffs,  from  the  mass- 
es of  basaltic  boulders  which  strew  it  everywhere,  and 
which  are  piled  in  wild  confusion  in  the  embayed  flat 
of  land  at  the  bottom.  Scouts  are  here  detached,  as 
the  pasturage  of  Zara  is  rich  and  abundant,  and  no 
one  knows  whether  Beni  Atiyeb,  or  other  freebooters, 
may  not  be  making  free  with  it.  Every  now  and 
then  we  see  one  of  our  ibex-hunters  signaling  to  us 
from  some  distant  crest,  after  creeping  to  the  brow, 
and  scanning  carefully  every  nook  for  a  possible  foe. 

At  length  the  signal  is  made  from  far  that  there 
are  camels  on  the  plain  and  Arabs  on  the  hills.  But 
soon  this  disquieting  problem  is  happily  solved:  they 

20 


294  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

are  a  camp  of  the  Beni  Sakk'r — old  acquaintances — 
with  whom  we  had  traded  for  lambs  at  Um  Easas. 
They  had  come  here  with  a  herd  of  weakly  and  nurs- 
ing camels,  in  order  to  feed  them  on  the  canebrake 
tops,  which,  as  Daoud  explained  to  us,  are  "  castor-oil 
to  camels'  stomachs." 

Not  only  was  their  presence  here  welcome  as  old 
friends,  but  it  was  a  guarantee  that  no  other  loafers 
could  be  in  the  neighborhood,  and  that  we  might  safe- 
ly wander  at  will.  Our  guard  were  happy,  and  ready 
to  spend  even  two  nights  here ;  for  what  Beni  Atiyeh 
would  venture  where  a  Beni  Sakk'r  had  pitched  ?  On 
our  asking  Zadam  how  his  people  had  come  here,  so 
far  out  of  their  own  territory,  he  replied,  with  mani- 
fest pride,  "  True,  the  land  is  not  ours,  but  our  people 
are  many,  and  who  shall  dare  to  prevent  them  from 
going  where  they  please?  You  will  find  them  ev- 
erywhere, if  the  land  is  good  for  them."  One  of  the 
many  advantages  this,  as  we  had  found,  of  belonging 
to  the  strongest,  where  might  is  right. 

At  length,  after  three  hours'  ride,  we  reached  the 
Dead  Sea  shore  at  Zara,  which  is  wrongly  placed  in 
the  maps,  being  really  three  miles  south  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Callirrhoe,  and  in  a  wide,  open  belt  of  land  be- 
yond the  opening  of  Wady  Z'gara.  The  surrounding 
mountain  crescent  is  beautiful,  both  in  form  and  color. 
The  sandstone,  gilded  by  the  sun,  presents  the  most 
gorgeous  coloring,  red  predominating;  but  white,  yel- 
low, and  brown  patches  and  streaks  abound.  Groves 
of  tamarisk  and  acacia,  and  all  the  strange  tropical 


RICH   BOTANY   OF   ZARA.  296 

shrubs  of  Engedi  and  the  Safieh,  the  osher  alone  be- 
ing absent,  gradually  give  place  to  huge  tufts  of  a 
sort  of  Pampas-grass  ten  feet  high,  and  then  to  im- 
penetrable canebrakes,  which  reach  to  within  a  few 
feet  of  the  pebbly  shore.  The  shore  gently  slopes, 
and  the  chord  of  the  embayed  oasis  is  about  two  and 
a  half  miles  across. 

The  plain  is  full  of  springs  of  hot  water,  sometimes 
sweet,  but  for  the  most  part  slightly  sulphurous,  and 
which  make  the  whole  canebrake  a  swamp.  Most  of 
these  springs  sink  into  the  gravel  as  they  approach 
the  sea ;  but  three  of  them  continue  their  course 
above  ground,  tumbling  over  little  slabs  of  limestone 
and  sulphurous  incrustation,  and  forming  tiny  cas- 
cades along  the  edge  of  the  shore.  The  belt  of  verd- 
ure closes  abruptly  to  the  north,  where  the  sandstone 
cliffs  form  a  bold  promontory,  standing  out  of  the 
water;  but  southward  it  continues,  slightly  narrowed 
sometimes  to  a  mile  or  less,  as  far  as  the  headland 
which  closes  in  the  view,  just  north  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Arnon. 

There  can  be  no  greater  contrast  than  that  between 
this  coast-line  and  the  western  shore,  or  the  Lisan. 
There  we  have  the  desolate  marl,  broken  only  at  En- 
gedi, by  a  patch  of  scanty  verdure.  Here  there  is 
not  a  trace  of  the  marl,  and  springs  and  streams  of 
sweet  water  abound.  Clearly,  the  post-tertiary  marl 
deposit  could  not  hold  against  these  steep  cliffs,  and 
has  long  since  been  washed  away ;  for  where  the 
rocks  do  not  come  sheer  to  the  sea,  they  break  away 


296 


THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


in  avalanches  of  bouMers  to  the  firm  pebbly  beach. 
Though  chiefly  of  many-colored  sandstone,  yet  there 
are  many  masses  of  basalt,  and  also  great  blocks  of 
pudding-stone  formed  of  rounded  boulders  of  basalt, 
embedded  in  carbonate  of  lime. 

Of  Zara,  the  old  Hebrew  town  of  Zareth-shahar, 


NO.  31.  ZARA. 

but  little  remains.  A  few  broken  basaltic  columns 
and  pieces  of  wall,  about  two  hundred  yards  back 
from  the  shore,  and  a  ruined  fort  rather  nearer  the 
sea,  about  the  middle  of  the  coast-line  of  the  plain, 
are  all   that  are  left,  beyond  the  identity  of  name. 


ZARA.  297 

Of  Koman,  or  later  work,  there  is  not  a  vestige.  Yet 
these  poor  relics  have  an  interest  of  their  own.  We 
are  looking  here  on  perhaps  the  only  surviving  relic 
of  the  buildings  of  the  semi-nomad  tribe  of  Reuben, 
prior  to  the  Babylonish  captivity.  Of  any  subse- 
quent permanent  occupation  of  the  site  there  is  no 
trace. 

The  oasis  lay  entirely  out  of  the  highway  of  the 
Moabite  plain :  it  leads  nowhere,  and  it  is  very  evi- 
dent, from  the  scanty  remains  elsewhere,  that  the  later 
colonists  never  affected  the  sultry  nooks  down  by  the 
sea,  though  a  few  shepherds  may  have  pastured  and 
partially  cultivated  the  fertile  soil  in  winter  and  spring. 
Enough  is  left  to  show  the  plan  of  the  place,  similar 
to  that  of  the  most  primitive  villages  of  Western  Pal- 
estine, as  they  exist  to-day.  There  has  been  a  sort 
of  central  tower  or  keep,  on  a  little  rising  hillock, 
round  which  the  hovels  of  the  village  clustered  in  a 
circle,  surrounded,  doubtless,  by  a  wall,  of  which  no 
traces  can  be  made  out.  The  material  must  have 
been  chiefly  basalt,  roughly  hammer-dressed,  and  with- 
out any  attempt  at  squaring  or  smoothing  the  surface. 
Neither  Lynch  nor  any  other  explorer  appears  to  have 
visited  Zara.  Just  to  the  south  is  a  very  conspicuous 
peak,  called  Abou  Sheebeh. 

The  choice  of  baths  at  Zara  was  tempting.  First, 
there  was  the  warm  salt  sea,  in  which,  or  rather  on 
which,  to  disport  and  perform  aquatic  gymnastics. 
Then  one  had  but  to  step  out  and  free  one's  skin 
from  the  brine  by  a  mixture  of  douche  and  shower- 


298  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

bath  under  the  ledge,  over  which  a  fresh  stream  tum- 
bled to  the  lake;  or,  if  a  warm  sulphur  bath  were 
preferred,  those  who  had  sufficient  endurance  to  bear 
parboiling  had  but  to  go  a  little  higher  up,  and  sim- 
mer in  a  bubbling  pool  of  the  temperature  of  130° 
Fahr.  For  myself,  a  sponge  at  that  heat  was  quite 
enough. 

But  the  air  was  scarcely  cooler  than  the  springs — 
95°  in  the  shade,  and  what  in  the  open  I  do  not  ven- 
ture to  guess.  There  was  enough,  in  the  amazing 
richness,  novelty,  and  beauty  of  the  scene  to  the  nat- 
uralist, to  compensate  for  any  rise  in  the  thermom- 
eter. The  familiar  note  of  more  than  one  English 
warbler  struck  the  ear,  and  the  lesser  white-throat, 
chiff-chaff,  and  blackcap  hopped  from  twig  to  twig, 
enjoying  perpetual  summer;  while  large  Nubian  but- 
terflies lazily  flapped  their  wings  among  quaint  shrubs 
and  bushes,  covered  with  flower-spikes,  yellow,  pink, 
or  white,  but  almost  all  of  them  nearly  destitute  of 
foliage. 

Thoroughly  exhausted  at  last,  we  enjoyed  our  din- 
ner under  the  shadow  of  a  rock.  The  freshly-killed 
Iamb  had  been  brought ;  and  though  the  salt  had  been 
forgotten,  we  found  the  Dead  Sea  water  an  excellent 
substitute,  and  its  bitter  improved  the  flavor  of  the 
insipid  viand,  while  water  warm  from  the  cascade  was 
more  suited  to  our  heated  frames  than  cold  water, 
which  exists  not  here. 

From  Zara  we  went,  by  the  shore,  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Callirrhoe.     Trotter  alone  had  sufficient  confi- 


RUGGED   PATH. 


299 


dence  in  the  prowess  of  his  horse,  or  in  the  strength 
of  his  own  bones,  to  attempt  it  in  the  saddle.  Our 
animals  followed,  led  by  the  muleteers.     The  distance 


^^    32.  MOUTH   OF   THE   CALLIRRHOE. 

was  about  three  and  a  half  miles,  the  track  was  a 
scramble   on  and  over  large  boulders,  and  on  the 


300  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

ledges  and  sides  of  cliffs  overhanging  the  sea — some- 
thing like  the  Corniche,  only  with  much  richer  col- 
oring. We  soon  crossed  a  lovely  little  gully  running 
down  to  the  sea,  and  full  of  palm-trees,  Vv^ith  a  stream 
at  the  bottom.  One  of  the  most  exquisite  bits  of  form 
and  coloring  was  a  bold  headland  of  crumbling  and 
jagged  red  sandstone,  pushing  right  forward  into  the 
water,  round  which  we  scrambled.  Two  other  gul- 
lies had  palm-trees,  and  rivulets  of  hot  fresh-water 
running  down. 

The  charm  of  the  coast-line  was  complete  when  we 
reached  a  triangular  spit  of  land  running  out  into  the 
sea,  about  half  a  mile  each  way,  densely  clothed  with 
tamarisks  and  jungle.  In  a  moment,  at  its  southern 
corner,  we  were  in  the  bed  of  the  Callirrhoe,  at  the 
mouth  of  its  gorge.  So  narrow  is  it,  you  are  quite 
unconscious  of  it  till  it  is  reached.  Picture  a  wild  ra- 
vine, never  more  than  one  hundred  yards  wide,  and 
in  some  places  only  thirty,  winding  between  two  rug- 
ged lines  of  brilliant  red  cliffs,  six  hundred  feet  high, 
which  stand  perpendicular,  but  sometimes  seem  to 
meet.  The  water,  in  a  large  and  rapid  lukewarm 
stream,  rushes  to  the  sea,  over  and  among  boulders  of 
granite,  sandstone,  and  conglomerate,  under  the  dense 
shade  of  tamarisk-trees,  choked  with  canebrakes  wav- 
ing their  tall  feathery  heads.  An  emerald  fringe  of 
maiden-hair  fern  hanging  from  the  rocks  skirts  the 
line  of  the  stream  to  the  very  mouth  of  the  gorge. 
When  we  had  strolled  up  some  six  hundred  yards, 
the  limestone  first  appeared  far  above  us,  on  the  top 


A  ROUGH   SCRAMBLE.  301 

of  the  red  sandstone,  but  only  on  the  north  side ;  and 
here  we  found  the  first  pabn-trees  now  remaining  in 
the  valley. 

Intent  on  outdoing  our  predecessors,  if  any,  and 
hearing  that  it  was  possible  to  force  our  way  back  to 
camp  along  the  course  of  the  river,  we  took  some 
views,  and  dispatched  our  horses,  servants,  and  guards, 
to  find  their  way  back  over  the  hills  southward.  This 
they  did  by  a  route  they  described  to  us  afterward 
as  much  worse  than  the  descent  to  Engedi,  and  where 
the  animals,  led  the  whole  way,  had  many  a  fall.  We 
took  with  us  only  a  Beni  Hamideh  ibex-hunter  as  our 
guide,  and  started  up  the  glen. 

The  deep  shade  of  the  gorge  was  delicious,  after 
the  broiling  we  had  had  at  Zara,  and  in  our  scramble 
along  the  shore,  with  the  sun  beating  upon  us  from 
the  south-west.  And  now  began  a  series  of  adven- 
tures, difficult  enough  at  the  time,  but  most  enjoyable 
in  the  retrospect. 

Every  turn  presented  a  new  view.  Now  leaping, 
with  guns  slung  on  our  shoulders,  from  rock  to  rock ; 
now  stumbling  among  boulders,  up  to  the  hips  in  the 
warm  water  of  the  dashing  stream ;  now  struggling 
through  tangled  jungle;  now  climbing  slopes  of  rot- 
ten debris  that  looked  impassable  a  few  minutes  be- 
fore ;  now  crawling  up  a  jagged  rock  on  hands  and 
feet ;  at  length  we  reached  a  point,  on  a  shelf  at  a 
dizzy  height  above  the  stream,  where  we  had  just 
room  to  stand.  We  halted  for  breath,  and  our  ibex- 
hunter  proposed  to  lead  us  along  a  ledge  skirting  the 


302  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

face  of  a  precipice,  by  a  niche  a  foot  wide,  with  hun- 
dreds of  feet  below  us  as  well  as  above. 

Though  Buxton  and  Trotter  were  ready  for  it,  the 
others,  being  neither  ibex-hunters,  nor  Alpine-club 
men,  rebelled,  and  we  compelled  our  guide  to  descend 
again  to  the  bed  of  the  river.  I  was  in  the  rear ;  and 
here  Hayne  had  a  narrow  escape,  when,  in  the  descent, 
I  dislodged  a  boulder  of  some  hundred-weight,  which 
dashed  down  the  ravine  with  the  reverberation  of 
thunder.  He  was  just  in  its  course,  when  he  turned 
round  at  the  shouts  of  those  above  him,  and,  barely 
in  time,  moved  out  of  its' way.  We  reached  the  wa- 
ter, and  had  now  the  advantage  of  our  barefooted 
hunter,  who  did  not  relish  the  sharp  points  of  cane- 
brakes  and  jagged  rocks.  On  we  waded,  through  the 
treacherous  depths  of  the  warm  stream,  plunging 
sometimes  headlong,  or  pushing  through  dense  jun- 
gle, till  we  had  rounded  the  next  headland. 

But  now,  what  our  Hamideh  called  a  "jebel  moia" 
— i.  d,  "a  mountain  of  water" — a  water-fall,  some  one 
hundred  feet  in  height — compelled  us  to  take  to  the 
cliffs  again.  Perched,  after  a  fatiguing  and  perilous 
ascent,  on  a  narrow  ledge  half-way  up  the  cliffs,  we 
saw  afar  our  long  cavalcade  of  horsemen  on  the  op- 
posite side,  looking  on  us,  as  we  sat,  from  the  dizzy 
height,  too  far  to  signal,  but  evidently  having  spied 
us,  and  supposing  we  had  lost  our  way.  A  short 
rest,  and  another  tremendous  climb  was  before  us. 
Alas!  the  folly  of  attempting  such  a  feat  as  heavi- 
ly weighted  as  an  unfortunate  British  soldier  on  a 


EFFORTS   TO   REACH   CAMP.  303 

march,  with  gun,  pistol-belt,  compass-case,  field-glass, 
powder,  two  shot -belts,  bowie-knife  and  cartridge- 
case,  flask,  and  other  impedimenta^  on  one's  person. 
Kindly  did  my  companions  relieve  me  of  my  super- 
fluous weight,  which  they  distributed  among  them, 
while  B.  aided  me  with  arm  or  coat-tails,  as  the  lie 
of  the  land  permitted.  Contemptuous  pity  showed  it- 
self in  the  smiles  of  our  ibex-hunter  as,  at  each  fresh 
point  gained,  I  was  glad  to  pause  to  recover  wind  and 
head. 

At  length  there  was  an  end  of  this  dizzy  scram- 
bling. We  gained  a  curious,  flat-topped  ridge  of 
limestone,  along  which  we  walked.  It  was  not  more 
than  two  feet  wide  at  the  top ;  and  we  looked  down, 
on  the  one  side  into  the  Callirrhoe;  on  the  other, 
down  the  slopes  of  the  next  gorge,  to  the  north. 
This  ridge  stretched  for  a  mile  or  two.  Still  there 
was  a  long  reach,  and  many  a  climb  up  and  down 
cliffs,  before  camp  could  be  reached.  At  length,  we 
finally  took  to  the  water.  Many  a  stumble  and  many 
a  tumble  were  the  result.  J.  indulged  himself  and 
his  gun  in  two  involuntary  hot  baths. 

Our  last  difficulty  was  to  weather  a  smooth,  round- 
ed clifif,  overhanging  a  small  lake  of  hot  water.  Now, 
to  have  one's  head-gear  repeatedly  abstracted  by  some 
thorny  creeper,  and  to  be  in  danger  of  plunging  head- 
long into  a  lake  of  the  temperature  of  120°  Fahr.,  as 
you  clutch  convulsively  at  the  excrescences  of  an 
overhanging  rock,  which  are  provokingly  rounded 
and  smooth,  is  somewhat  trying   at  the   end   of  a 


304  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

day  of  eleven  hours  under  an  Eastern  sun,  especially 
when  that  sun  has  just  gone  below  the  horizon,  and 
vou  remember  that  you  are  too  near  the  equator  to 
have  much  twilight  to  aid  you. 

There  is  no  moon,  and  our  camp  is  divided  from 
us  by  a  hot  stream,  shut  in  by  walls  of  crumbling 
sulphur,  and  embosomed  in  the  thickest  of  cane- 
brakes.  Are  we  near?  Our  ibex-hunter,  who  him- 
self has  begun  to  show  signs  of  fatigue,  breaks  out 
into  a  rhapsody  of  Arab  melody,  deafening  and  ex- 
cruciating to  a  musical  ear,  but  welcome  now,  for  the 
"Alhamdu  I'lllali !"—" Praise  be  to  God!"— would 
not  have  come  forth  in  such  stentorian  tones  unless 
we  had  been  near  the  tents.  In  another  minute  we 
creep  under  a  bamboo  thicket,  and  emerge  in  front  of 
our  homestead,  steaming  and  sodden  with  hot  water. 

A  bathe  close  by,  and  then  gallons  of  soup,  tea, 
buttermilk,  and  bitters,  cleared  off  incrustations  with- 
out and  quenched  thirst  within  ;  and  far  into  the  night 
we  sat  discussing  the  haps  and  the  mishaps  of  the 
most  successful,  original,  and  enjoyable  day  we  had 
ever  had. 

After  such  a  week  of  expeditions,  a  Sunday's  rest 
in  the  depths  of  the  Callirrhoe  was  welcome  indeed ; 
and  the  coincidence  of  the  history  of  the  martyrdom 
of  the  Baptist  occurring  in  the  services  of  the  day, 
just  after  our  visit  to  Machserus,  as  well  as  the  ap- 
propriateness of  Keble's  hymn,  was  not  unobserved. 
We  enjoyed,  too,  the  privilege  of  joining  with  those 
at  home  in  the  Holy  Communion  office,  though  per- 


HABITS   OF  THE   IBEX.  305 

haps  not  after  a  strictly  rubrical  fashion.  In  the 
afternoon  many  Hamideh  visitors  severely  tested  our 
medical  skill,  one  woman  bringing  with  her  the  not 
unacceptable  fee  of  a  kid-skin  of  fresh  butter,  while 
•one  of  our  Arabs  brought  into  camp  an  ibex  he  had 
shot. 

For  two  days  more  we  rested  in  this  romantic  and 
delicious  dell.  There  was  work  enough  for  all  in 
clearing  off  arrears,  though  one  was  rather  tempted 
to  sit  in  the  tent  door  and  watch  the  little  herds  of 
ibex  through  a  field-glass,  as  they  gamboled,  uncon- 
scious of  our  proximity,  from  point  to  point  among 
the  basaltic  columns  opposite,  on  the  heights  above 
us.  One  fellow  I  could  see,  as  he  leaped  from  needle 
to  needle,  tossing  back  his  enormous  curved  horns 
till  they  seemed  to  strike  behind  his  tail,  and  then,  in 
his  bound,  gathering  all  his  four  feet  and  lighting 
with  them  all  close  together  on  a  little  point  of  rock 
on  the  face  of  what  seemed  a  smooth  wall  of  cliff,  fol- 
lowed by  the  rest  of  the  herd  in  single  file.  Once  I 
saw  him  make  a  drop,  and  break  the  force  of  the  fall 
by  lighting  on  the  front  of  his  horns.  The  knees  of 
the  ibex  are  singularly  adapted  for  his  mountaineer- 
ing life.  Even  in  the  young  kid  there  is  a  hard  cal- 
lous, without  any  hair,  on  the  front  of  the  knee;  and 
in  the  old  animal  this  callous  is  hard  as  a  camel's  foot, 
with  sinews  of  prodigious  strength  attached  to  it. 

But  though  the  ibex  were  numerous  enough,  they 
were  not  easily  got  within  stalking  distance,  and  the 
tremendous  depth  of  the  ravines  rendered  it  hopeless 


306  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

to  attempt  a  second  ambuscade  when  the  herd  had 
been  once  alarmed.  Indeed,  our  sportsmen  only  had 
two  shots,  and  those  not  successful,  to  reward  them 
for  a  heavy  day's  work.  One  of  these,  however,  was 
very  close ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  awkwardness 
of  his  position  at  the  moment,  Trotter  might  have 
rivaled  our  Hamideh  guide,  and  brought  home  two 
horned  trophies.  The  ibex  venison  we  all  pro- 
nounced to  be  the  best  food  we  had  tasted  in  the 
country,  and  infinitely  superior  to  the  chevreuil  of  a 
Swiss  table-d'hote. 

Those  of  us  who  did  not  attempt  the  feat  of  ibex- 
hunting  had  enough  to  do  at  home — one  with  his 
photography,  and  another  with  his  botany.  Hayne 
found  himself  at  his  wit's  end  with  a  glut  of  plants, 
new  and  strange,  every  press  gorged,  every  sheet  of 
paper  occupied,  and  every  nook  of  the  tent  crammed 
with  "  hasheesh  " — i.  e,,  cabbage — as  our  Arabs  con- 
temptuously termed  his  treasures. 

Medical  cases  still  occupied  much  of  my  time.  A 
successful  guess  in  treating  one  case  had  raised  my 
reputation,  most  inconveniently  for  myself;  and  my 
declining  to  operate  on  the  spot  for  dropsy  was  as- 
cribed to  malice;  while  only  prejudice  against  the 
true  believers  deterred  me  from  setting  right  a  stiff' 
joint  where  a  bullet  had  been  lodging  for  twenty 
years.  Our  pharmacopoeia  was  not  extensive :  the 
most  popular  remedy  was  croton-oil — two  drops  a 
dose;  and  invariably  a  perfect  cure  was  reported. 
Ophthalmy,  the  plague  of  the  country,  of  course,  we 


ORNITHOLOGY.  307 

could  satisfactorily  treat,  as  we  were  well  supplied 
with  caustic  and  sulphate  of  zinc. 

Ornithology,  had  we  had  more  leisure,  would  have 
well  repaid  research  in  this  sequestered  glen.  The 
red-winged  grakle  {Aimjdrus  tristrami)  sent  forth  his 
sonorous  whistle,  far  out  of  shot,  in  the  cliffs  above, 
but  even  here  proved  himself  the  wildest  of  birds. 
The  exquisitely -colored  Moabite  sparrow  {Passer  mo- 
abiticus),  peculiar  to  the  Dead  Sea  basin,  and  discov- 
ered by  us  in  our  former  expedition,  concealed  itself 
in  the  thick  reeds,  or  ran  up  the  stems,  with  a  merry 
chirrup,  to  pick  the  seed-tufts.  The  little  sun-bird 
(Cinnyris  osece),  with  his  plumage  glancing  with  metal- 
lic lustre,  puffed  out  his  orange  tufts  from  his  shoul- 
ders, as  he  hopped  among  the  tamarisk  twigs;  and 
many  of  our  English  summer  birds  were  enjoying 
perpetual  summer  here.  The  square  -  tailed  raven 
{Corvus  affinis)  had  a  rookery  in  the  basalt  cliffs,  and 
a  large  flock  passed  over  our  tents  morning  and  even- 
ing. This  is  a  most  interesting  bird  to  watch — full 
of  antics,  and  very  jackdaw-like  in  some  of  its  ways. 
In  their  flight  these  ravens  often  gamboled  like  the 
roller,  dipping  perpendicularly,  and  performing  som- 
ersaults in  the  air.  They  have  three  distinct  notes — 
an  alarm-cry  —  "whew-ho"  —  a  call-note,  something 
like  the  jackdaw's,  and  a  whistling,  musical  caw  of 
satisfaction. 

We  had  thoughts  of  moving  camp,  when  an  Arab, 
whom  we  had  sent  a  week  before  to  Jerusalem,  ar- 
rived with  our  mails,  bringing  every  one  news  from 


308  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

England,  our  latest  being  twenty-three  days  old.  Our 
postman  bad  had  a  narrow  escape  in  coming  up  from 
the  Jordan  Valley.  The  night  before  he  reached  us 
he  had  been  stopped  by  a  band  of  robbers,  eight  in 
number,  belonging  to  Kerak.  On  finding  he  had  no 
money,  they  threatened  to  kill  him,  but  contented 
themselves  with  opening  the  packet  of  letters,  and 
ascertaining  that  they  contained  no  coin ;  and  after 
stripping  him,  and  taking  from  him  the  store  of  to- 
bacco he  was  bringing  for  our  servants,  finally  let 
him  go.  Probably  he  would  have  fared  worse,  had 
he  not  told  them  he  was  a  Beni  Sakk'r,  and  that  his 
sheik  was  in  the  neighborhood,  when  prudence  in- 
duced them  to  give  back  the  packet  of  letters. 

The  band  consists  of  forty  men,  employed  chiefly 
in  horse  and.  cattle  lifting  from  the  Hamideh.  They 
divide  themselves  into  smaller  bodies,  but  have  a 
common  rendezvous  in  the  mountains,  known  only 
to  themselves.  The  neighborhood  of  this  marauding- 
band  warned  us  that  it  was  time  to  move  camp ;  for 
though  Zadam  threatened  summary  vengeance  on 
any  whom  he  might  catch,  it  was  more  than  probable 
that  some  of  our  horses  and  mules,  which  were  allow- 
ed to  wander  at  will  on  the  mountain  side,  might  be 
lifted  during  the  night,  in  spite  of  the  sharpest  look- 
out our  men  could  maintain. 

Before  leaving  this  neighborhood  we  spent  an  even- 
ing in  catechising  the  local  Hamideh  who  hung  about 
our  camp  on  the  topography  of  the  district.  It  was 
difficult  to  elicit  the  simplest  facts,  and  most  of  them 


TOPOGRAPHY   OF   THE   DISTRICT.  309 

were  utterly  ignorant  of  the  country  a  few  miles  be- 
yond their  own  pasture-grounds.  By  dint  of  cross- 
questioning  we  made  out  the  names  of  most  of  the 
hills  and  wadys  on  either  side  of  us,  and  ascertained 
that  no  ruins  had  escaped  us.*  Of  one  thing  they 
were  firmly  convinced — that  our  only  object  in  visit- 
ing the  country  was  to  seek  buried  treasure,  and  that 
we  had  already  been  successful.  It  was  in  vain  to 
deny  or  ridicule  the  notion :  they  would  only  quietly 
smile ;  but  nothing  would  disabuse  them. 

*  The  only  ruins  on  the  western  edge  of  the  plateau,  between  the 
Callirrhoe  and  the  Arnon,  unvisited  by  us,  seem  to  be  Sug'hat  and  Ed 
Deir,  both  of  which  we  had  made  out  through  our  glasses.  The  wady 
to  the  south,  between  Machaerus  and  the  Arnon,  is  known  as  Wady 
Beni  Hamideh.  To  the  north  we  had  .Jebel  Azzenah,  then  Wady 
'Anazeh,  Jebel  'Anazeh,  and  Wady  and  Jebel  Hajilah,  apparently  the 
same  word  as  the  Hebrew  "Hill  Hachilah,"  on  the  western  side. 
(1  Sam.  xxiii.,  19.) 

21 


810  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


CHAPTER  XYL 

Departure  from  Callirrhoe. — Night  Alarm. — Horses  stolen. — Pursuit. 
— Camp  Fires.— Wild  Seclusion. — Ascent  to  the  Highlands. — Pri- 
meval Remains. — Dolmens. — Corn-fields. — Gazelle. — Ma'in,  Baal- 
Meon. — Balaam's  Progress  with  Balak. — His  Stations. — Medeba. 
— Pigeons. — Alarm  of  Shepherds. — Farewell  to  the  Hamideh. — A 
Beni  Sakk'r  Farmer. — Tenure  of  Land. — History  of  Medeba. — Its 
Citadel. — Isolated  Columns.  —  Inscriptions. — Colonnaded  Square. 
— Churches. —  Immense  Reservoir. —  Richness  of  the  Soil. —  Part 
with  old  Friends. — Letter  from  the  Adwan. — A  Jericho  Naturalist. 
— Endless  Villages. 

At  ]eTio;th  we  must  leave  the  most  charmins;  of 
camps,  and  bid  farewell  to  the  rightly-named  Callir- 
rhoe. Our  people,  full  of  Arab  superstitions,  bj  no 
means  shared  our  reluctance.  Our  first  night  was  to 
be  spent  in  the  upper  Zerka  Ma'in,  where  we  had 
pitched  on  our  way  down.  But,  after  sending  up  our 
convoy  by  the  most  direct  route,  we  employed  the 
day  in  further  investigations  southward.  After  a 
long  and  interesting  detour  of  ten  hours,  we  reached 
our  old  camping- ground,  just  after  sunset,  without 
recognizing  .  it,  and  found  our  white  tents  already 
mounted  on  a  lovely  slope  overhung  by  fig-trees  and 
oleanders,  which  shade  the  stream,  at  the  foot  of  Jebel 
Humeh, 

Dinner  over,  we  had  a  little  excitement.  We  were 
discussing  the  plans  of  the  morrow  with  Zadam,  when 


CAMP   FIRES.  311 

the  alarm  of  thieves  was  raised,  and  we  were  called 
on  to  seize  our  guns.  The  robber  band,  of  whom  we 
had  heard  from  our  postman,  had  found  us  out,  and 
had  carried  off  a  horse  and  a  mule.  They  were  qui- 
etly sneaking  up  the  hill  with  them,  and  a  muleteer 
in  full  pursuit,  when  one  of  them  turned  and  aimed 
a  large  stone  at  him.  The  companions  of  the  thief 
called  on  him  not  to  fire,  lest  an  alarm  should  be 
raised.  But  Zadam  and  Daoud  were  already  climb- 
ing the  hill,  and  a  whole  volley  of  small  arms  was  in- 
stantly fired  oSl  to  warn  the  robbers  of  our  strensrth. 
They  at  once  left  their  booty,  and  concealed  them- 
selves among  the  rocks,  while  a  young  Beni  Sakk'r 
brought  the  animals  back  in  triumph,  and  performed 
a  sort  of  war-dance  round  the  camp  fire.  Certainly, 
after  hearing  the  report  of  some  twenty  barrels  in  suc- 
cession, they  must  have  been  bolder  than  ordinary 
Arabs  to  make  a  second  attempt.  Yet  soon  after, 
a  horse's  pickets  were  loosened,  and  another  alarm 
given,  when  a  party  of  men  could  be  seen  in  the  star- 
light, as  they  fled  up  the  hills. 

The  camp  scene  was  picturesque.  The  night  was 
now  pitch  dark  ;  several  great  camp  fires  were  blaz- 
ing, for  fuel  was  plentiful,  and  the  men  in  circles  sat 
or  stood  round  them,  the  glare  reflecting  the  gleam 
of  the  guns,  while  the  situation  was  discussed.  The 
jackals  howled  on  one  side;  the  signal-calls  of  the 
robbers  were  detected,  very  near  us,  on  the  other. 
Sheik  Na'ar  stood  up,  Arab  fashion,  by  the  fire,  and 
made  sonorous  proclamation,  in  terms  which  re-echoed 


312  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

round  the  inclosing  hills  (for  our  camp  was  complete- 
ly shut  in  on  all  sides),  that  we  were  men  of  peace, 
and  at  peace  with  all ;  but  that  if  any  one  disturbed 
us,  or  touched  a  beast  of  ours,  the  sheik  of  the  Beni 
Sakk'r  would  shed  his  blood  on  the  spot,  and,  after 
this  warning,  it  would  be  on  his  own  head.  Vigor- 
ous and  partially  successful  efforts  were  now  made  to 
light  up  the  hills,  by  kindling  the  brush-wood  and 
dead  trees  on  the  banks  of  the  stream.  While  the 
glare  was  rising,  we  retired  to  rest  at  midnight,  lulled 
to  sleep  by  the  calls  of  our  guards  echoing  round  the 
hills,  to  keep  themselves  and  their  friends  awake ;  nor 
had  we,  after  this  alarm,  any  fear  of  finding  ourselves 
minus  a  horse  before  morning. 

Our  camp  in  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Zerka,  though 
not  the  most  picturesque  we  had  lighted  on,  was  yet 
a  most  perfect  ideal  of  wild  seclusion.  A  saucer- 
shaped  dell,  into  the  depths  of  which  the  sun  can  not 
peer  till  he  has  mounted  high  on  the  meridian — an 
oleander-shaded  stream  running  through  its  centre — 
a  perfect  circle  of  rugged  mountains  all  round,  with- 
out affording  a  glimpse  of  any  possible  entrance  or 
exit  (for  the  stream  enters  at  right  angles  at  one  end, 
and  escapes  at  right  angles  at  the  other,  with  over- 
lapping hills  to  cover  the  passages)  —  and  a  lovely 
slope  of  rich  herbage,  fringed  by  wild  fig-trees— such 
was  our  sequestered  home  for  the  night.  We  needed 
no  barometer  to  tell  us  we  were  getting  into  high 
ground,  for  the  thermometer  fell  to  39°  ;  and  the  cold, 
with  our  late  vigils,  did  not  conduce  to  an  early  start. 


DOLMENS.  313 

To  the  top  of  Jebel  Zerka,  as  the  northern  ridge  is 
named,  was  only  half  an  hour's  ride,  when  we  turned 
and  could  look  down  into  the  basin,  where  our  lag- 
gard muleteers  were  still  loitering  over  the  embers  of 
the  watch-fires.  We  followed  without  interruption 
the  track  of  an  ancient  road,  which  continues  right 
across  the  highlands,  by  Maon  and  Medeba,  to  Hesh- 
bon.  We  were  now  once  again  on  the  plateau  of 
Moab,  with  rocky  swellings  instead  of  plains,  and 
with  gentle-sloping  valleys,  the  mothers  and  nurses 
of  the  ravines  which  plow  the  bowels  of  the  rocks 
down  to  the  Dead  Sea. 

Part  of  our  route  was  by  the  side  of  the  Wady 
'Atabeiyeh,  which  runs  down  south  to  the  Zerka,  a 
short  and  rapidly  deepening  valley.  Here,  on  a  rocky 
upland  bank,  we  came  for  the  first  time  upon  a  dol- 
men, consisting  of  four  stones,  rough  and  undressed  : 
ihree  set  on  end,  so  as  to  form  three  sides  of  a  square : 
and  the  fourth,  laid  across  them,  forming  the  roof. 
The  stones  were  each  about  eight  feet  square. 

From  this  place  northward  we  continually  met 
with  these  dolmens,  sometimes  over  twenty  in  a  morn- 
ing's ride,  and  all  of  exactly  similar  construction. 
They  were  invariably  placed  on  the  rocky  sides,  nev- 
er on  the  tops,  of  hills ;  the  three  large  blocks  set  on 
edge,  at  right  angles  to  each  other,  and  supporting  the 
massive  stone  laid  across  them,  which  was  from  six 
to  ten  feet  square.  They  are  favorite  stations  for  the 
Arab  herdmen,  whom  we  frequently  saw  stretched 
at  full  length  upon  the  top  of  them,  watching  their 


314 


THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


flocks.  The  dolmens  appear  to  be  confined  to  the 
district  between  the  Callirrhoe  and  Heshbon :  in  sim- 
ilar districts  to  the  south  of  that  region,  they  never 
occurred.  I  have,  however,  in  former  visits  to  Pales- 
tine, seen  many  such  in  the  bare  parts  of  Gilead,  be- 
tween Jebel  Osha  and  Gerash. 


NO.  33. 


SKETCH   OF   DOLMEX. 


It  is  difficult  to  understand  why  they  were  erected 
on  these  hill-sides.  I  never  found  one  with  a  fourth 
upright  stone,  and  in  many  instances  the  edifice  had 
fallen ;  but  in  such  cases  the  heap  always  consisted 
of  four  blocks,  neither  more  nor  less. 


PRIMEVAL   REMAINS.  315 

From  the  shallowness  of  the  soil,  there  could  have 
been  no  sepulture  here  under-ground ;  and  there  are 
no  traces  of  any  cairns  or  other  sepulchral  erections 
in  the  neighborhood.  It  is  possible  that  the  primeval 
inhabitants  erected  these  dolmens  in  many  other  situ- 
ations, but  that  they  have  been  removed  by  the  sub- 
sequent agricultural  races,  who  left  them  undisturbed 
only  on  these  bare  hill-sides,  which  can  never  have 
been  utilized  in  any  degree  for  cultivation. 

Still,  it  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  three  classes 
of  primeval  monuments  in  Moab — the  stone  circles, 
dolmens,  and  cairns— exist,  each  in  great  abundance, 
in  three  different  parts  of  the  country,  but  never  side 
by  side :  the  cairns  exclusively  in  the  east,  on  the 
spurs  of  the  Arabian  range ;  the  stone  circles  south 
of  the  Callirrhoe ;  and  the  dolmens,  north  of  that  val- 
ley.* This  fact  would  seem  to  indicate  three  neigh- 
boring tribes,  co- existent  in  the  prehistoric  period, 
each  with  distinct  funeral  or  religious  customs.  Of 
course,  the  modern  Arab  attributes  all  these  dolmens 
to  the  jinns. 

Having  reached  the  crest,  we  are  now  on  easy  rid- 
ing ground— sometimes  flat  plain,  covered  with  green 
corn,  or  else  the  gentlest  ascents  and  descents ;  while, 
all  along,  we  follow  the  tracks  of  the  old  road,  be  it 
Jewish  or  Roman,  marked  by  its  bold  edging  of 
stones,  and  here  smooth  between  the  parallel  lines, 


*  One  cairn  only,  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  dolmens,  is  found  in  the 
north-west. 


316  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

undisturbed  by  the  wooden  plow ;  so  that  we  often 
ride  along  the  centre  of  the  road  itself.  On  all  sides 
are  the  long  lines  of  foundations,  which  indicate  the 
boundary-walls  of  ancient  fields  or  vineyards,  perhaps 
the  patrimony  of  many  a  Reubenite.  Men  are  plow- 
ing in  all  directions  with  oxen,  or  sowing  barley — 
the  wheat  being  already  six  inches  high — and  flocks 
of  pigeons  afford  us  many  a  passing  shot. 

The  territory  of  the  Beni  Sakk'r  had  begun  on  the 
top  of  Jebel  Zerka ;  but  they  are  no  agriculturists, 
and  most  of  this  wide  corn  plain  is  tilled  for  them 
by  slaves,  or  by  their  dependent  vassals,  the  Abou 
Endi. 

A  herd  of  gazelle  was  started  among  the  corn. 
Trotter  and  Buxton  went  after  them  on  foot,  while 
Zadam  and  I,  having  no  bullets  for  our  guns,  rode 
hard  round  the  base  of  the  hill  to  the  other  side,  with 
the  hope  of  turning  them.  It  was  a  pretty  sight  to 
see  the  graceful  little  antelopes  trotting  gently  along 
the  edge  of  the  ridge,  just  on  the  sky-line.  Unfor- 
tunately, the  wind  was  against  the  hunters.  On  reach- 
ing the  shoulder,  and  turning  sharply  round,  we  found 
ourselves  within  twenty  yards  of  the  herd,  which  look- 
ed at  us  for  a  moment,  and  then,  tossing  up  their 
heads,  bade  us  farewell,  and  scampered  off  in  the 
wrong  direction. 

The  chase  had  brought  us  on  to  the  hills  of  Ma'in 
(Baal-meon),  with  its  ruins  of  vast  extent.  These  oc- 
cupy the  crests  and  slopes  of  four  adjacent  hills — one 
having  evidently  been  the  central  city,  and  connected 


BAAL-MEON. 


317 


with  the  next  by  a  wide  causeway.  The  remains  are 
of  the  ordinary  type— foundations,  fragments  of  wall, 
lines  of  streets,  old  arches,  many  carved  stone,  caves, 
wells,  and  cisterns  innumerable.  Some  curious  cav- 
ernous dwellings,  built  up  with  arches  and  fragments 
of  old  columns,  are  still  occasionally  used  by  the 
Arabs  as  folds  and  sleeping-places. 

Baal-meon  had,  in  the  time  of  the  later  prophets, 
reverted  to  Moab,  and  must  have  been  a  city  of  im- 
portance, since  it  is  spoken  of  by  Ezekiel  (chap,  xxv., 
9)  as  "  the  glory  of  the  country."  It  continued  to 
the  Christian  era,  and  is  mentioned  by  Eusebius,  under 
the  same  name,  as  a  very  large  village  (kw/xtj  fisyiaTti) 
near  the  hot  springs,  and  nine  miles  from  Heshbon. 
He  adds  that  it  was  the  birthplace  of  Elisha.  It  does 
not  appear  to  have  been  an  episcopal  see. 

The  view  from  the  highest  crest  is  very  fine,  but 
too  far  recessed  to  show  the  depression  of  the  Dead 
Sea.  There  is  a  very  clear  exposure  of  the  southern 
wall  of  the  Zerka  Ma'in  ravine;  and  northward,  Je- 
rusalem, Gerizim,  Tabor,  Hermon,  and  Mount  Gilead 
can  all  be  descried,  through  the  distant  haze,  by  the 


glass.* 


*  This  was  a  remarkably  good  position  for  ascertaining  the  topo- 
graphical details  of  the  immediate  neighborhood.  "West  of  Wady  Ha- 
bis,  a  small  deep  wady,  Wady  el  Bekker,  runs  down  to  the  Callirrhoe. 
From  Ma'in,  a  spur  of  the  plateau,  forming  a  sort  of  ridge,  runs  due 
west,  called  Masloubeiyeh,  to  tlie  north  of  which  the  Wady  Anazeh 
descends.  A  Roman  road  runs  along  the  ridge  from  Ma'in  as  far  as 
the  edge  of  the  plateau,  where  it  divides,  one  branch  turning  south  to 


318  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB, 

I  have  drawn  attention  to  this  view,  from  its  bear- 
ing on  the  history  given  us,  in  Numb,  xxii.,  of  the 
progress  of  Balaam  with  Balak.  Balak  met  the 
prophet  at  the  banks  of  the  Arnon,  the  frontier  of 
his  kingdom  (verse  36). 

He  then  takes  him  to  Kirjath-huzoth,  "  the  City  of 
Streets"  (verse  39),  probably  Kiriathaim  (described 
chap,  xiv.,  p.  290),  and  its  high  place,  the  top  of  At- 
tarus,  with  its  commanding  prospect.  This  is  the  first 
conspicuous  eminence  north  of  the  Arnon. 

Then,  proceeding  northward,  the  next  day  he  brings 
him  on  to  the  high  places  of  Baal  (verse  41),  or  Ba- 
moth-l^aal— probably  Baal-meon— evidently,  from  its 
name,  sacred  to  Baal,  and  which  was  changed  by  the 
Reubenites  into  Beth-meon  (Numb,  xxvii.,  38).  This 
was  the  second  position  whence  he  had  a  command- 
ing view  of  the  future  country  of  Israel. 

Afterward  they  proceed  to  Pisgah,  or  Nebo  (chap, 
xxiii.,  14) ;  and  finally  to  the  top  of  Peor,  facing 
Jeshimon — i.e.,  the  ridge  north  of  Nebo  and  due  west 
of  Heshbon — where  there  is  a  group  of  ruins,  which, 

the  hot  baths,  and  the  other  descending  direct  to  the  shore.  We 
found  that  Et  Teim  (the  conjectural  Kiriathaim  of  Burckhardt),  in- 
stead of  being,  as  marked  on  the  maps,  between  Heslibon  and  Ma  in, 
in  the  open  plain,  is  really  just  south  of  Medeba.  Several  ruins  un- 
marked on  the  maps  are  visible  from  Ma'in  northward,  but  west  of 
Medeba.  Two  miles  north  of  Ma'in  is  Kirbet  el  K'feir,  and  about  a 
mile  west  of  the  latter  is  M'Shuggar.  In  a  hollow  between  these,  but 
to  the  north,  is  a  small  ruined  heap,  Ilujum  Abdallah ;  while  three 
miles  N.N.W.  of  Ma'in  is  Kujum  Seyieh.  None  of  these  names  sug- 
gests connection  with  any  historical  ancient  site. 


MEDEBA. 


319 


as  well  as  Nebo,  will  be  afterward  described.  Thus, 
with  every  reasonable  probability,  we  have  the  iden- 
tification of  the  four  sacrificial  stations  of  Balak  and 
Balaam. 

A  ride  of  an  hour  and  a  half,  all  the  way  by  the 
line  of  the  Roman  road,  brings  us  from  Ma'in  to 
Medeba.  Medeba,  though  it  does  not  cover  the 
square  miles  of  Ma'in,  has  been  a  city  of  great  im- 
portance. It  is  in  much  better  preservation  than  the 
former  city;  and  its  vast  reservoir,  some  standmg 
walls,  and  a  few  columns  still  erect,  form  conspicu- 
ous features  in  the  landscape  from  a  distance. 

To  be  again  on  the  open  plain,  with  its  long  stretch- 
es of  grass,  gave  a  pleasurable  sensation  of  freedom, 
after  our  most  enjoyable  time  in  the  rocky  valleys. 
Much  of  the  country  was  under  cultivation —  the 
Abou  Endi  on  one  side  of  us,  the  Beni  Sakk'r  on 
the  other;  tents  in  every  hollow,  countless  flocks  and 
camels.  All  bespoke  security,  and  mutton  and  milk 
in  abundance. 

We  found  our  camp  already  pitched  under  the 
shelter  of  the  rising  ground  of  the  city,  and  looking 
forth  to  the  east,  with  an  uninterrupted  view  of  the 
plain  and  its  spring  tenants.  We  at  once  strolled 
forth,  with  the  best  archaeological  intentions ;  but, 
finding  birds  in  abundance,  were  seduced  by  less  sci- 
entific propensities,  and  returned  at  night  with  heavy 
bags,  and  three  days'  dinners  secured.  Hearing  a 
somewhat  rapid  fusillade,  really  a  most  innocent 
slaughter  of  pigeons,  the  shepherds  in  the  neighbor- 


320  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

hood  fled  in  fright,  concentrated,  reconnoitred  our 
party  riding  up  the  hills,  and  sent  a  herald  to  inquire 
what  the  warlike  demonstration  might  mean. 

Being  now  out  of  the  Hamideh  territory,  we  here 
finally  parted  with  Sheik  Na'ur  and  all  his  men. 
Zadam,  too,  left  us  for  a  few  days — a  very  practical 
proof  that  we  needed  no  guards  here.  The  little 
great  man,  the  humble  footman  chief  of  a  small 
mountain  tribe,  was  an  amusing  contrast  to  the  proud 
chieftain  of  the  lordly  Beni  Sakk'r;  but  he  was  espe- 
cially careful  to  impress  upon  us  that  he,  too,  was  a 
real  sheik.  There  are  lords  of  high  degree  and  of 
low  degree  here,  as  elsewhere.  Zadam  bows,  Na'ur 
kisses  our  hands,  and  is  somewhat  cringing.  The 
very  moderate  parting  gift  of  five  gold  pieces,  well 
earned,  was  enough  to  evoke  a  torrent  of  gratitude, 
and  affectionate  kisses  to  all  the  party  round. 

Our  ibex- hunting  friend,  whom  we  nicknamed 
Abou  Bedoun  (father  of  ibex),  was  at  home  here,  and 
one  of  the  very  few  Beni  Sakk'r  of  high  degree  who 
turned  his  attention  to  agriculture,  cultivating  the 
rich  soil  of  the  ancient  bank  and  the  neisrhborhood 
of  the  old  city  by  his  slaves,  and  claiming,  though  a 
nomad,  distinct  personal,  and  not  tribal,  possession  of 
the  land.  This  exception  to  the  ordinary  Arab  sys- 
tem seems  to  be  admitted  without  difficulty,  where 
the  ground  is  unsuitable  for  pasturage,  and  prevails 
still  more  generally  among  the  Abou  Endi,  the  Belka, 
and  other  more  stationary  tribes.  It  is  certainly  a 
tacit  recognition   of  the  fact  that,  however  suitable 


ANCIENT   CITY   OF    MOAB.  321 

tribal  or  common  enjoyment  of  the  soil  may  be  to  a 
pastoral  people,  it  can  not  practically  co-exist  with 
the  simplest  or  rudest  agriculture,  but  at  once  gives 
place  to  individual  proprietorship. 

Abou  Bedoun  and  his  friends  were  very  constant 
evening  visitors,  as  he  had  pitched  his  tent  hard  by, 
to  watch  the  getting  in  of  his  seed,  and  had  an  eye  to 
tobacco  and  other  luxuries  when  the  labors  of  the  day 
were  over.  But  we  had  the  advantage  of  his  local 
knowledge,  and  it  would  have  been  impossible  to 
find  a  better  guide. 

The  remains  of  Medeba  itself  indicate  a  high  state 
of  prosperity  in  the  Roman  period ;  but  its  history 
extends  centuries  further  back.  It  must  have  been 
among  the  most  ancient  of  the  cities  of  Moab,  for  it 
is  mentioned  with  Heshbon  and  Dibon  in  the  antique 
poem  quoted  in  Numb,  xxi.,  30,  before  the  conquest. 

Allotted  then  to  Reuben,  we  find  it  held  for  a  short 
time  by  the  Ammonites  during  the  reign  of  David; 
for  it  was  before  the  gates  of  Medeba,  on  the  fine 
plain  to  the  east  of  it,  that  Joab  gained  his  great 
victory  over  them  and  the  combined  hordes  they  had 
brought  to  support  them,  with  their  82,000  chariots 
from  Mesopotamia,  Syria- maachah,  and  Zobah — in 
fact,  from  the  whole  region  between  the  Jordan  and 
the  Euphrates  (1  Chron.  xix).  In  the  time  of  Isaiah 
it  had  again  reverted  to  Moab,  along  with  the  other 
towns  in  this  district. 

After  the  return  from  captivity,  it  was  alternately 
in   the  possession  of  the  Jews  and  of  the   Gentile 


322  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

tribes,  and  was  the  scene  of  several  important  events. 
Here  John  Maccabseus  was  captured  and  slain,  for 
which  his  brothers  Jonathan  and  Simon  took  a 
bloody  revenge  (Joseph.,  "  Antiq."xiii.,  1).  It  after- 
ward surrendered  to  Hyrcanus,  at  the  end  of  a  six 
months'  siege.  It  remained  from  that  time  in  the 
hands  of  the  Jews.  It  retained  its  importance  in 
early  Christian  times,  and  was  an  episcopal  see,  as 
mentioned  by  Eusebius.  Its  bishop  appears  several 
times  in  the  records  of  the  Eastern  councils. 

Medeba  is  not,  as  it  appeared  to  Palmer,  looking  at 
it  from  the  higher  ground  to  the  westward,  in  a  hol- 
low, but  on  the  top  of  a  "  tell,"  round  which  the  old 
city  extended  a  considerable  way  into  the  plain  east- 
ward, bounded  on  the  south  by  the  wady  of  the  same 
name.  Taking  the  top  of  this  "tell"  as  our  centre, 
where  there  has  evidently  been  a  sort  of  citadel,  we 
command  a  view  of  the  whole  extent  of  the  ruins. 
In  few  places  are  the  lines  of  roads  and  streets  more 
clearly  to  be  traced.  A  gentle  declivity  on  the  west 
side  is  immediately  succeeded  by  a  rise,  honey-comb- 
ed by  a  labyrinth  of  caves,  which  have  all  been  once 
a  depot  for  the  supply  of  water,  stored  up  for  sum- 
mer use. 

Beyond  the  base  of  the  hill  the  city  proper  does 
not  seem  to  have  extended  westward ;  but  the  slope 
has  been  a  wide  suburb  of  scattered  buildings,  with 
several  roads,  still  plainly  marked  by  the  parallel 
double  lines  of  stones,  and  half-way  up  has  stood  a 
large  temple.     This  has  still  two  columns  standing 


COLUMNS   AT    MEDEBA. 


323 


close  together  erect,  conspicuous  objects  from  far. 
They  are  only  eighteen  feet  high.  It  is  rather  per- 
plexino-  to  find  that  the  capitals  must  nave  been 
mounted  on  the  columns  at  a  later  period,  subsequent 
to  the  destruction  of  the  temple.  Each  of  them  is  far 
too  small  for  the  shaft  on  which  it  stands;  while  one 


jjQ   34  COLUMNS   AT   MEDEBA. 

is  Ionic,  and  the  other  Corinthian.  Across  them  has 
been  laid  a  large  block  of  stone,  which  has,  at  least, 
performed  the  useful  office  of  keeping  the  pillars  erect. 
Passing  round  by  the  north  flank  of  the  hill,  we  see 
extensive  foundations  outside  of  the  city  wall.  We 
found  a  Greek  inscription  of  five  lines  on  a  tablet ; 


324  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

and  although  we  could  not  satisfactorily  decipher  it, 
yet  it  would  not  be  impossible,  with  time  and  pa- 
tience, to  do  so.  We  also  found,  on  a  very  large 
cornice-stone,  a  Latin  inscription  of  some  length  ;  but 
this  is  hopelessly  weathered  and  past  deciphering. 
On  the  southern  slope  of  the  hill,  built  into  an  an- 
cient wall,  was  another  plain  stone,  which  has  borne 
an  inscription,  now  all  but  obliterated,  and  which  ap- 
pears to  have  been  in  Phoenician  characters. 

The  chief  extension  of  the  Eoman  city  has  been 
on  the  plain  to  the  east  of  the  hill.  The  wall  of  cir- 
cumvallation  can  be  clearly  traced.  The  access  to 
Medeba,  on  this  side,  has  been  by  a  paved  road  lead- 
ing to  a  finely-built  massive  gate-way  with  two  side 
portals.  Several  cornices  of  this  gate-way  remain  in 
situ,  and  the  stones  of  its  arch,  and  many  cornice- 
stones,  are  lying  strewn  around.  Within  the  gate- 
way, on  the  north  side,  has  been  a  large  square,  with 
a  colonnade.  Six  paces  outside  the  columns  has  been 
a  wall,  probably  the  line  of  the  principal  street.  The 
bases  of  the  columns  are  for  the  most  part  in  their 
places,  and  there  is  only  a  space  of  four  feet  between 
each.  The  extent  of  the  square  is  280  paces  from 
north  to  south,  by  240  paces  east  to  west.  Within 
the  inclosing  colonnade  we  could  find  no  traces  of 
building  ;  but  outside  the  eastern  wall  are  many 
traces  of  isolated  buildings  on  the  plain ;  several  of 
these  have  been  small  square  temples  of  the  ordinary 
Moabite  type,  others  perhaps  forts,  and  others  cer- 
tainly tombs.     Just  beyond  the  eastern  gate  is  a  large 


PUBLIC   BUILDINGS.  325 

deep  cistern,  or  reservoir,  now  half  filled  in ;  and  a 
paved  road  stretches  across  the  plain  from  the  north- 
east angle  of  the  city. 

The  principal  public  buildings  seem  to  have  been 
in  the  northern    quarter   of  the  city.     One  oblong 


j[0.  35.  TEMPLE   AT    MEDEBA. 

building,  the  use  of  which  we  could  not  divine,  was 
fifty  yards  from  east  to  west,  by  twenty  -  five  from 
north  to  south,  and  had  door-ways  in  the  centre  of 
the  eastern  and  western  faces.  Beneath  it  were  solid 
vaulted  cisterns  of  great  depth,  beautifully  arched. 
A  round  temple  in  this  quarter  seems  to  have  been 

22 


326  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

subsequently  converted  into  a  Christian  church.  It 
has  four  pillars  standing  at  the  west  end,  and  a  large 
pentagonal  apse,  apparently  an  addition  of  later  work- 
manship, at  the  east  end.  Near  this  is  another  vault- 
ed cistern,  fifteen  yards  by  ten,  containing  still  a  small 
supply  of  water,  the  drinking-place  of  the  ravens  and 
pigeons. 

From  these  buildings  upward  is  a  labyrinth  of 
streets,  with  the  ordinary  arched  constructions,  some 
of  them  still  temporarily  inhabited  by  the  Bedouin 
shepherds.  Among  them  has  been  a  Christian  church, 
with  its  apse.  Inside  its  walls  many  capitals  of  Co- 
rinthian columns,  which  once  supported  the  roof  of 
its  aisle,  are  strewn,  and  some  slabs  with  Greek  cross- 
es inscribed.  Near  it  is  another  large  square  build- 
in  <t,  and  another  Christian  church.  A  defticed  Greek 
inscription  lies  among  its  ruins.  BACIAE  and  9E0T 
were  the  only  consecutive  letters  I  could  decipher. 
Upon  a  lintel  over  an  ancient  door -way  were  the 
sculptured  emblems  of  the  sun  and  moon. 

The  eastern  extent  of  the  city  is  over  1000  yards. 
It  is  at  the  south-east  angle,  where  the  wady  turns  to 
the  eastward,  that  the  most  remarkable  relic  of  old 
Medeba  is  to  be  seen.  A  mass  of  masonry  dams  the 
valley,  forming  the  sustaining  wall  of  an  immense 
reservoir,  open,  like  that  of  Ziza.  This  structure,  of 
beautiful  workmanship,  far  more  carefully  finished 
than  that  at  Ziza,  is  still  perfect,  though  the  space  of 
the  reservoir,  now  used  as  a  tobacco  field,  is  many 
feet  deep  in  soil,  washed  into  it  by  the  torrents  from 


ANCIENT   RESERVOIR  AND   WALLS.  327 

above.  It  is  120  yards  square,  built  on  the  same 
principle  as  Solomon's  pools;  and  at  each  end  is  a 
carefully-finished  flight  of  steps.  The  eastern,  or  low- 
er, wall  is  thirty  feet  thick  at  its  base,  diminishing,  by 
the  regular  contraction  of  its  courses  outside,  to  eight- 
een feet  at  the  top.  Inside  it  is  of  smoothly-dressed 
masonry,  and  buttressed :  each  buttress  is  nine  feet 
nine  inches,  with  the  intervening  spaces  of  exactly 
the  same  width.  The  present  height  of  the  walls 
above  the  soil,  inside,  is  only  twenty  feet.  At  the 
north-east  corner  has  been  a  massive  tower  and  sort 
of  gate- way.  From  the  south  -  east  corner  the  wall 
extends  a  long  way  across  the  valley  and  up  the  hill, 
forming  a  massive  dam,  which  turned  the  water  back 
to  the  reservoir.  This  wall  has  now  been  broken 
down,  close  to  the  pool,  by  the  winter  torrents.  The 
other  inclosing  walls  are  plain,  without  pilasters  or 
buttresses,  and  fifteen  feet  thick,  the  top  of  the  west- 
ern being  level  with  the  soil  outside,  carried  down 
against  it  by  the  floods. 

A  very  little  energy  and  labor  might  easily  again 
utilize  this  noble  work,  and  fertilize  the  neighborhood. 
The  soil  of  all  Moab,  and  pre-eminently  of  this  neigh- 
borhood, is  wonderfully  rich — a  fine,  red  sandy  loam, 
which  year  after  year  grows  successive  crops  of  wheat 
without  manure,  and  into  which  one  can  with  ease 
thrust  a  stick  for  at  least  two  feet.  The  mole  -  rats 
{Spalax  typhlus)  seem  to  be  the  only  scientific  agricul- 
turists here,  and  they  swarm.  Were  it  not  for  their 
top-dressing,  the  soil  must  soon  be  exhausted.     Yet 


328  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

our  friend  Ayeed,  the  ibex-hunter,  looked  upon  these 
heaps  with  the  same  disgust  with  which  an  English 
gamekeeper  would  eye  the  traces  of  what  he  calls 
vermin. 

Four  days,  including  a  quiet  Sunday,  was  but  a 
short  time  to  devote  to  the  remains  of  Medeba  and 
its  neighborhood ;  but  it  was  all  we  could  spare,  and 
very  hard  did  all  the  party  work.  Excavations  we 
were  not  able  to  attempt;  but  I  have  seen  no  place 
in  the  country  where  they  seem  more  likely  to  yield 
good  results. 

We  were  now  on  the  frontier  of  the  Beni  Sakk'r 
land,  and  our  companions  of  the  last  month  began  to 
leave  us  one  by  one.  Young  Sahan  came  one  morn- 
ing, before  the  hoar-frost  was  off  the  ground  (for  the 
nights  here  were  sharp,  and  did  not  conduce  to  early 
rising),  to  bid  us  farewell.  Arab-like,  he,  though  a 
young  prince,  evidently  expected  a  "  tip  "  at  parting, 
and  had  no  scruples  about  accepting  one.  He  set  off 
at  once  for  his  father's  camp,  in  good  heart,  to  join  in 
the  war  with  the  Anizeh,  his  first  introduction  to  mil- 
itary life.  He  was  a  fine,  noble-hearted,  generous  boy. 
and  open  to  impressions.  Would  that  he  had  the  op- 
portunity of  getting  some  better  light  and  instruction  ! 

The  same  day,  also,  we  lost  the  best  of  our  Beni 
Sakk'r  guards,  who  went  to  join  the  fray — the  horse- 
man, Nim'r  —  i.  e.,  "the  leopard"  —  who  had  been 
Trotter's  companion  in  ibex-hunting,  and  had  been  a 
watchful,  quick,  and  keen  guard  and  guide  for  a  fort- 
night.    He  had  a  soul  above  backsheesh,  and  knew 


LETTER   OF   WELCOME.  329 

the  country  well.  No  intending  explorer  of  Moab 
could  do  better  than  secure,  through  Zadarn,  the  serv- 
ices of  Nim'r.  The  same  evening  Zadam,  who  had 
left  us  alone  for  three  days  at  Medeba,  returned  from 
his  family  camp,  bringing  with  him  a  present  of  four 
Iambs — no  slight  addition  to  the  larder,  for  we  had 
begun  keenly  to  feel  the  force  of  the  French  proverb, 
"  Toujour  s  per  dr  IX  J' 

On  the  Sunday  morning  we  received  a  letter  of 
welcome  from  my  old  friend  Sheik  Goblan,  of  the 
Adwan,  informing  us  that  he  had  heard  of  our  being 
in  the  neighborhood,  and  that  he  was  encamped  near 
Heshbon,  where  we  were  by  all  means  to  go  and  see 
him,  and  dine  with  him.  He  added  that  he  was  sure 
we  could  not  leave  the  country  without  paying  an- 
other visit  to  Amman  and  Gerash  (both,  of  course, 
within  his  district,  and  involving  backsheesh).  We 
were  obliged  to  disappoint  him  of  his  anticipated 
gains,  but  wrote,  through  Daoud,  in  reply,  that  we 
should  be  at  Heshbon  in  a  few  days,  and  that  he  must 
come  and  dine  with  us  on  our  arrival. 

We  were  also  surprised  by  a  visit  from  some  Jericho 
Arabs,  who  had  known  me  well  eight  years  before, 
and  had  heard  of  our  whereabouts  through  the  Ad- 
wan. At  once  they  came  off  to  see  me  as  old  friends. 
Among  them  was  my  former  henchman,  Jemeel,  who 
used  to  collect  natural  history  specimens  for  me.  Per- 
haps his  affection  was  somewhat  stimulated  by  the 
hope  of  a  new  commission,  as  he  straightway  applied 
for  ammunition.      We   at  once  equipped  him  with 


330  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

powder  and  shot,  arsenical  soup,  and  carbolic  acid, 
and  bid  him  meet  us  in  five  days,  by  Jordan.  Jemeel 
certainly  did  not  fail  us,  and  his  supply  of  specimens, 
when  we  reached  the  Jordan  plain,  attested  his  in- 
dustry and  prowess,  though— alas  for  my  collections ! 
— not  his  skill  in  taxidermy. 

Our  various  rides  in  the  immediate  neighborhood 
of  Medeba  yielded  absolutely  nothing  worth  record. 
The  ruined  villages  lie  thick  in  every  direction,  seldom 
more  than  half  a  mile  apart,  but  all  utterly  featureless, 
and  most  of  them  very  small.  The  largest,  Et  Teim, 
is  the  only  one  noticed  by  previous  travelers  by  name. 
It  lies  due  south  of  Medeba.  The  others  appear  to 
have  been  unwalled  towns,  the  dependents  either  of 
Meon  or  Medeba,  and  possessing  neither  churches  nor 
temples.  The  oil-press  was  usually  the  most  con- 
spicuous relic  of  the  past ;  but  their  frequency  attests 
a  prodigious  past  population. 

The  towns  farther  to  the  west  are  of  a  somewhat 
different  character,  and  may  be  grouped  rather  with 
Heshbon  than  with  Medeba. 


DISTINGUISHING  CHARACTERISTICS.  331 


CHAPTER  XYIL 

The  north-west  Corner  of  Moab.— Its  many  Ravines.— Wheat  Culti- 
vation.—Belka  Arabs.— Maslubeiyeh.— Splendid  Panorama. — Dol- 
mens.—Jedeid.—Nebbeh.— Its  Identity  with  Nebo.— View  of 
Moses.  —  Ancient  Authorities.  —  Zi'ara. — Interesting  Ruins. — Ba- 
laam's Views.— Identity  of  Zi'ara  and  Zoar.— Position  of  the  Cities 
of  the  Plain.— Arguments  for  placing  them  north  of  the  Dead  Sea. 
—Mr.  Grove's  Inference.  — Ay un  Moussa.— Springs  of  Moses.— 
Picturesque  Glen.— Cascades.— M'Shuggar.—Ajermeh  and  other 
Tribes.— Heshbon. — Adwan  Camp. — Elealeh. — Night  Search  for 
Camp. — Goblan's  Welcome. — His  Character. — Tragic  Crime. 

The  district  lying  to  the  west  and  north-west  of 
Medeba — z.e.,  that  comprised  by  a  parellogram  rough- 
ly drawn,  with  the  line  from  Medeba  to  Heshbon  for 
its  eastern  limits,  and  a  line  drawn  through  the  edges 
of  the  brows  overhanging  the  Dead  Sea  for  its  west- 
ern— has  many  characteristics  to  distinguish  it  from 
the  other  portions  of  Moab.  Within  the  space  of 
these  few  miles  the  plateau  is  riven  by  five  or  six 
deep  wadys,  which,  commencing  in  very  gentle  de- 
pressions, about  the  parallel  of  Heshbon,  rapidly  deep- 
en ;  while  the  plain,  culminating,  just  where  the  wadys 
begin  to  descend,  in  a  ridge  elevated  some  two  hun- 
dred or  three  hundred  feet  above  it,  thenceforward 
becomes  a  series  of  parallel  ranges,  descending  hy 
graduated  steps  of  about  six  hundred  feet,  with  a 
ruined  city  on  each  brow.  Beneath  the  westernmost 
brow  there  is  a  precipitous  descent  to  another  lower 


332  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

Strip  of  grass-land,  from  half  a  mile  to  a  mile  in  width ; 
after  which  a  rugged  incline,  covered  with  boulders, 
leads  to  the  plain  by  the  sea-shore. 

All  the  remains  of  former  civilization  are  crowded 
on  the  upper  ridges,  and  we  spent  several  days  in  ex- 
amining these  in  detail.  The  wadys  in  order  are,  to 
the  south  of  Medeba,  and  commencing  near  Et  Teim, 
the  Wady  Hawara;  oext,  north  of  Medeba,  Wady 
Ed  Deib,  called,  when  it  approaches  the  sea,  Wady 
Ghuweir  ;  north  of  this,  Wady  Jedeid,  named,  lower 
down,  Wady  Ghedeimeh.  Between  these  two  latter 
is  a  shorter  and  very  steep  gully,  Wady  Burrhoughat. 
North  of  these,  after  crossing  over  Nebo  and  Zi'ara, 
we  come  to  the  Wady  Ayun  Moussa — "Springs  of 
Moses  " — or,  as  it  is  called  in  the  lower  plain,  Wady 
Jerifeh.  Beyond  these,  again,  are  wadys  Heshban 
and  Na'ur,  the  latter  the  largest  of  all,  and  opening 
into  the  plain  north  of  the  Dead  Sea,  the  plain  of 
Shittim  or  the  Seisaban. 

■  The  first  ruin  of  importance  west  of  Medeba  is  Ja- 
zel,  with  a  heap  of  stones  marking  a  central  fort,  and 
foundations  of  buildings  grouped  round  it.  Soon 
afterward,  proceeding  in  a  north-west  direction,  we 
come  on  a  group  of  ruined  villages,  consisting  of  four 
distinct  places,  but  all  bearing  the  same  name,  Kefeir. 
Common  as  double  towns  are  in  Moab,  this  was  the 
first  time  we  had  met  with  a  quadruple  one.  The 
ruins  are  about  half  a  mile  apart,  situated  each  on  a 
separate  "  tell,"  or  gently  swelling  elevation  of  the 
uplands. 


BELKA  ARABS.  333 

We  had  now  altogether  left  the  pastoral  country, 
and,  instead  of  herds  of  camels,  had  before  us  an  al- 
most unbroken  reach  of  corn  land,  the  wheat  well  up, 
thick  and  vigorous,  and  of  the  deepest  green  ;  while 
many  yokes  of  dwarf  oxen  were  dotted  about,  plow- 
ing, under  the  guidance  of  negro  slaves,  for  the  barley 
which  they  were  only  now  beginning  to  sow.  Our 
guide,  Ayeed,  took  care  to  point  out  to  us  the  extent 
of  his  farm,  assuring  us,  at  the  same  time,  that  no 
Beni  Sakk'r  ever  drove  a  plow  himself,  but  left  all 
such  menial  toil  to  his  slaves.  When  a  man  came 
up  to  us,  and  most  civilly  requested  us  not  to  ride 
over  his  wheat,  this  very  commonplace  incident  made 
us  feel  as  if  we  had  really  returned  to  civilization.* 

At  Jazel  we  entered  on  the  territory  of  the  Belka 
Arabs.  This  tribe  was  once  the  ruling  race  of  the 
whole  country  ;  but,  about  1-iO  years  ago,  the  Beni 
Sakk'r  pressed  upon  them  from  the  south-east,  gradu- 
ally drove  them  completely  out  of  their  fair  pastures, 
and  hemmed  them  up  into  this  little  corner.  The 
tradition  of  their  former  power  still  remains,  and  the 
whole  of  the  highlands  of  Northern  Moab,  as  far  as 
M'Shita  and  Zebib,  are  known  to  this  day  in  the 
Turkish  governmental  vocabulary  as  the  Belka.  '  The 
pasha  of  the  east  side  of  Jordan,  whose  head-quarters 
are  at  Es  Salt,  is  known  only  as  the  Pasha  of  the 
Belka. 

*  From  these  hillocks  we  had  a  good  view  of  many  ruined  sites  to 
the  south  and  south-west,  between  the  Wady  Ed  Deib  and  the  Wady 
Hawara,  as  M'Kheir,  IM'Seyik,  Gouajiyah,  and  others. 


334  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

The  slopes  of  the  Belka  are  by  no  means  unbroken. 
Out  of  the  fine,  light,  red  soil  continually  rise  little 
rocky  rounded  hills,  with  very  gentle  slopes,  half 
their  surface  the  bare  rocky  shelf,  all  limestone,  and 
the  rest  covered  with  fine  short  herbage,  completely 
burned  up  in  summer.  The  little  knolls  are  studded 
with  dolmens,  exactly  like  those  described  above. 

Judging  from  the  number  both  of  plows  and  camps, 
which  were  always  large,  the  Belka  population  must 
be,  for  a  nomad  one,  very  dense.  Population  and  cul- 
tivation have  not  encouraged  animal  life.  Scarcely 
a  partridge  was  flushed.  Kock-doves  here  and  there ; 
stone-curlews,  jackdaws,  and  vultures,  were  the  only 
large  birds  we  saw.  Now  and  then  a  fox  was  start- 
ed ;  and  once,  as  we  were  coming  over  a  little  brow,  a 
grim,  solitary  wolf  leaped  to  his  feet,  and  walked  very 
quietly  away,  looking  at  us  over  his  shoulder.  But 
by  the  time  the  guns  were  unslung  and  charged  with 
ball,  he  took  care  to  quicken  his  pace  and  desert  us. 

The  whole  of  the  ridge  running  westward  between 
wadys  Ed  Deib  and  Jedeid  is  named  Muslubeiyeh ; 
and  this  name  is  given  indiscriminately  to  many  ru- 
ins on  its  various  knolls,  causing  hopeless  confusion 
in  their  identification.  Many  short  and  steep  wadys 
run  down  either  north  or  west.  One  of  them,  Bur- 
roughat,  starts  from  a  heap  of  ruins  of  some  size,  bear- 
ing the  same  name.  All  the  ruins  to  which  we  rode 
in  this  district,  and  they  were  not  a  few,  were  similar 
to  each  other — utterly  overthrown  heaps,  the  barest 
fragments  of  walls,  no  arches  left,  and  generally  a 


VIEW    FKOM   THE   MOAB   RANGE,  335 

large  heap  of  stones  in  the  centre,  where  once  the 
central  fort  has  stood. 

The  highest  point  toward  the  east  has  been  crown- 
ed by  a  fortification  of  greater  importance  than  the 
others,  known  by  the  name  of  the  ridge,  Muslubeiyeh. 
The  top  is  flat,  with  a  precipitous  descent  from  its 
western  edge.  The  ruins  are  very  unlike  those  of 
the  Roman  times.  There  has  been  a  circular  wall 
round  the  town  ;  and  outside  it,  at  the  eastern  and  ac- 
cessible end,  has  stood  a  square  fortress,  of  which  only 
a  few  courses  remain  above  ground.  This  castle  is 
eighty -six  yards  square,  and  stands  seventy  -  three 
paces  east  of  the  circular  wall.  The  total  diameter 
of  the  place  is  289  yards. 

The  view  from  this  place,  especially  that  of  the 
lower  part  of  the  Jordan  Valley,  is  very  fine,  and  can 
only  be  surpassed  by  those  from  Nebo  and  Mount 
Gilead.  To  our  left,  on  the  south,  we  looked  down 
into  the  Wady  Ed  Deib,  from  its  very  source.  Just 
beyond  it,  and  running  parallel  with  it  toward  the 
Dead  Sea,  was  Wady  Hamara.  Beyond  this  again, 
over  the  rugged  southern  wall  of  the  Callirrhoe,  peer- 
ed the  hills  of  Southern  Moab  ;  and  beyond  their  tops, 
in  the  haze,  was  Mount  Hor,  or  one  of  the  mountains 
of  Petra.  Several  rounded  brows  intervened  to  the 
north  between  us  and  Wady  Jedeid,  each  crowned 
by  a  ruin.  Corn  patches  of  deepest  green  crept  ev- 
erywhere, almost  to  the  crests  of  the  hills,  up  each 
gentle  depression  in  their  sloping  sides. 

Below  us,  in  front,  and  stretching  some  way  to- 


336  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

ward  the  Dead  Sea,  was  a  plateau  covered  with  corn, 
undulating,  but  not  sloping,  high  above  the  sea,  and 
completely  shutting  out  its  edge  from  our  view. 

In  front  the  hill  country  of  Judah,  from  far  south 
of  Hebron,  stretched  in  unbroken  line  up  to  Gerizim 
and  Jezreel ;  and  other  hills,  perhaps  Tabor  and  Her- 
mon,  could  be  faintly  traced  up  the  opening  of  the 
Jordan  Valley  in  the  dim  haze  of  the  sunny  mirage. 
Farther  to  our  right  were  the  dark  pine-clad  mount- 
ains of  Gilead  and  Ajalon,  with  Es  Salt  (Ramoth- 
gilead)  on  the  side  of  the  former,  and  Heshbon  in 
front  of  them.  Just  beyond  the  immediate  fore- 
ground at  our  feet  was  spread  the  lower  end  of  the 
Jordan  Valley,  bare,  and  of  dazzling  whiteness,  as  the 
sun  shone  on  the  barren  but  glittering  marl,  relieved 
only  by  the  two  green  patches  of  Jericho  opposite, 
and  the  long  green  strip  of  the  Seisaban,  or  the  plains 
of  Shittim,  close  below  the  hills  on  which  we  stood. 
Over  these,  in  the  far  distance,  we  could  just  detect 
the  green  plain  of  Shechem,  and  the  opening  to  its 
valley  between  Ebal  and  Gerizim.  The  whole  coun- 
try of  Judea  opposite  looked  naked  and  rugged, 
plowed  with  a  complete  net-work,  or  labyrinth,  of  ir- 
regular furrows,  till,  as  the  eye  reached  to  Bethlehem, 
or  Jerusalem,  they  were  lost  in  the  distance.  The 
pale  earthy  brown  of  the  western  country  was  unre- 
lieved by  the  slightest  tinge  of  color.  The  higher 
ridges  behind  us  shut  out  all  view  of  the  plains  of 
Moab. 

The  camps  of  the  present  inhabitants  dotted  every 


ANCIENT  FORT.  337 

little  valley,  and  the  dolmens  of  their  ancient  pred- 
ecessors every  hill-side,  as  we  looked  northward  up 
the  course  of  the  Jedeid  toward  Nebbeh,  or  Nebo. 
M'Heiyat,  which  we  visited,  nearly  an  hour  due  north 
of  Muslubeiyeh,  is  merely  a  large  pile  of  shapeless 
ruins,  and  a  few  foundations  on  the  top  of  a  hill. 
Descending  from  this,  we  wound  up  the  side  of  a  gen- 
tle rising  valley,  an  affluent  of  the  Jedeid,  with  pic- 
turesque cliffs  below  us,  sheltering  occasional  pools  in 
the  little  stream,  which  was  now  dry  in  parts  of  its 
course. 

Signs  of  population  were  on  all  sides — Arabs  bath- 
ing in  some  of  the  pools,  blue-clad  women  washing 
linen  in  others.  Many  were  the  dodges  of  the  old 
ibex-hunter  to  delude  us  by  side-paths  to  the  con- 
stantly-recurring black  tents,  which  promised  him 
the  chance  of  a  draught  of  "leben,"  or  curdled  milk; 
but,  with  deaf  ears  and  fixed  faces,  we  set  our  horses' 
heads  toward  one  hill-top  after  another,  regardless  of 
the  assurances  of  our  guide,  in  his  most  silvery  tones, 
"Leben  tayib  menhone"  ("The  milk  is  good  here"). 

At  the  head  of  the  valley  stands  an  ancient  fort, 
Kirbet  Jedeid,  which  would  call  for  no  remark,  being 
exactly  like  all  the  others,  a  mere  square  block-house, 
were  it  not  that  it  was  the  only  one  we  found  in 
which  the  walls  are  still  tolerably  perfect,  and  show 
the  closely-built  buttresses  which  strengthened  the 
solid  masonry. 

From  this  castle,  crossing  the  valley  and  mounting 
on  the  other  side,  we  reach  the  third  parallel  ridge 


338  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

north  of  Medeba— that  of  Zi'ara,  the  highest  hill  of 
which  is  Nebbeh.  The  rains  of  Nebo  are  on  a  mam- 
elon,  slightly  depressed  and  projected  from  the  line 
of  the  main  ridge,  which  runs  north  and  south  from 
Heshbon  to  Ma'in,  and  are  about  two  miles  west  of  its 
crest.  There  is  a  very  perfect  ancient  roadway  from 
the  eastern  plain  to  this  place,  and  thence  down  to 
the  lower  terrace.  But  the  ruins  themselves  consist 
of  nothing  more  than  foundations. 

Anxious  to  verify  exactly  the  view  of  Moses,  we 
paid  three  visits  to  Nebo;  but  we  were  not  so  for- 
tunate as  on  my  former  visit,  when,  for  the  first  time, 
ISTebo  was  identified.  On  each  occasion  there  was  a 
haze  from  the  heat,  which  dimmed  the  distant  fea- 
tures and  outlines,  producing  a  sort  of  mirage,  which 
rendered  it  most  difficult  clearly  to  trace  distant 
objects. 

Still,  we  had  a  clear  distant  view  of  Western  Pales- 
tine and  the  whole  Judean  range  from  far  south  of 
Hebron  up  to  Galilee.  We  could  see  the  west  side 
of  the  Dead  Sea  from  Engedi  northward,  Bethlehem, 
Jerusalem,  and  Nebi-samwil  (Mizpeh).  Ebal  and 
Gerizim  were  very  easily  made  out,  and  the  opening 
of  the  vale  of  Shechem.  Carmel  could  be  recognized, 
but  we  never  were  able  to  make  out  the  sea  to  the 
north  of  it;  and  though  it  is  certainly  possible  that  it 
might  be  seen  from  this  elevation,  I  could  not  satisfy 
myself  that  I  saw  more  than  the  haze  over  the  plain 
of  Esdraelon.  The  rest  of  the  view  was  like  that 
from  Muslubeiyah,  only  that  a  corner  of  the  Hauran 


VIEW   FROM   NEBO.  839 

Mountains  (Bashan)  could  be  caught  in  a  depression 
of  the  Gilead  range.  Hermon  certainly  could  be 
made  out  in  a  clear  atmosphere,  over  the  Jordan  Val- 
ley, the  whole  of  which  lay  open  as  far  as  Kurn  Sur- 
tabeh ;  but  the  haze  rendered  it  very  indistinct,  if, 
indeed,  we  saw  it  at  all. 

However,  after  testing  repeatedly  every  view  in  the 
neighborhood,  I  am  perfectly  satisfied  that  there  is 
none  which  equals  in  extent  that  from  Nebo — i.  e., 
from  the  fiat  ridge  which  rises  slightly  about  half  a 
mile  behind  the  ruined  city,  and  which  I  take  to  be 
the  true  "  field  of  Zophim,  the  top  of  Pisgah."  The 
prospect  described  above  from  Muslubeiyeh  is,  per- 
haps, richer  in  the  detail  of  the  foreground;  but,  not 
being  so  completely  projected  forward,  does  not  yield 
the  same  distant  glimpses  northward. 

From  Nebo  we  looked  down  on  our  right,  north- 
ward, into  the  Wady  Ayun  Moussa — "Springs  of 
Moses" — which  rises  to  the  north-east  of  it,  and  runs 
out  into  the  Ghor  Seisaban — "Plains  of  Shittim" — 
opposite  Beth  Jeshimoth.  In  the  lower  part  of  its 
course  it  is  called  Wady  Jerifeh.  It  was  dotted  with 
trees,  bright  green  spots,  and  occasional  patches  of 
cultivation,  wherever  it  was  more  open  than  usual. 

By  this  wady  would  be  the  natural  ascent  to  Nebo 
from  the  p)lains  below ;  and  by  it,  doubtless,  Moses 
ascended  with  Joshua  to  the  crest  of  the  range.  We 
could  trace  the  line  of  the  path  the  whole  wa}'-  up. 
Three  other  ravines,  up  which  there  are  paths,  lead 
from  the  same  plains  to  the  heights  —  one  by  the 


340  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

Wady  Heshban,*  to  the  north  of  Ayun  Moussa ;  and 
the  Wady  Na'ur,  north  of  this  again,  the  largest  of 
all  these  valleys.  The  farthest  up  is  the  Wady 
N'meirah. 

But  these  are  all  too  far  north  to  have  led  to  any 
point  which  can  afford  such  a  panorama  as  that  from 
Nebo.  Indeed,  there  can  scarcely  now  remain  a  doubt 
on  the  mind  of  any  investigator  as  to  the  identity 
of  the  site,  and  the  exact  harmony  of  the  Scriptural 
topography  with  the  actual  facts.  Besides,  although 
Nebo  had  escaped  modern  research  until  1864,  the 
name  and  place  were  well  known  to  early  Christian 
writers ;  and  Eusebius  expressly  mentions  that  "  it 
lay  on  the  other  side  Jordan,  in  the  land  of  Moab, 
and  is  shown  to  this  day,  six  miles  to  the  west  of 
Heshbon."  {AuKwrai  fig  tri  vvv  airb  a^  ai}fxdov  'Ea- 
(iovg  alg  ^uaixag.) 

The  names  of  Nebo  and  Nebor  (Naj3wc  and  NajSaw) 
seem  to  be  confused  by  Eusebius;  but  probably  this 
Nebo  was  the  old  city  mentioned  in  Isaiah  (xv.,  2), 
and  which  perished  at  the  destruction  of  Moab,  nor 
was  again  rebuilt.  Unlike  the  other  towns,  it  shows 
no  trace  of  Eoman  or  later  work.  Zareth-shahar  was 
the  only  other  site  in  this  part  of  the  country  where 
those  great  builders  do  not  appear  to  have  left  their 
mark. 

The  lateral  range,  which  culminates  in  Nebo,  ter- 

*  In  "  The  Land  of  Israel "  I  erroneously  stated  that  the  Wady 
Heshban  runs  into  the  Na'ur.  I  have  since  ascertained  that  it  has  an 
independent  exit  into  the  Jordan. 


A   MAGNIFICENT   CISTEEN.  341 

minates  bluntly  in  a  lower  brow  some  distance  to  the 
west  of  it.  While  standing  on  the  hallowed  site,  we 
detected  in  front  of  us  a  bold  spur  pushing  forward, 
at  a  rather  low  elevation,  due  west,  and  apparently 
overhanging  the  head  of  the  Dead  Sea.  Half  an 
hour's  hard  riding,  without  drawing  rein,  up  and 
down  the  shoulders  of  many  a  brow,  brought  us  to 
the  summit  of  a  bold  headland,  projecting  westward, 
between  Wady  Jedeid  to  the  south,  and  Ayun  Mous- 
sa  to  the  north. 

The  place  is  known  to  the  Arabs  as  Zi'ara,  and  has 
been  one  of  considerable  importance.  The  pile  of 
ruins  is  very  large.  The  brow  of  the  hill  is  flatten- 
ed, apparently  artificially,  and  its  slopes  are  steeply 
scarped,  to  the  depth  of  about  twenty  feet,  with  traces 
of  a  wall  of  circumvallation  below. 

In  the  hill  itself,  on  the  south  side,  about  thirty  feet 
down,  has  been  excavated  a  magnificent  cistern,  with 
a  finely  vaulted  roof,  which  is  still  quite  perfect,  with 
the  two  square  traps  in  the  roof  through  which  the 
water  was  drawn  up.  We  entered  by  the  side,  where 
an  entrance  has  been  laboriously  broken  open  for  the 
purpose  of  sheltering  flocks ;  for  water  has  long  since 
ceased  to  accumulate  in  the  cavern.  We  could  trace 
the  method  by  which  it  was  fed,  through  cemented 
conduits,  entering  it  near  the  top,  and  which  brought 
down  the  drainage  of  the  higher  slopes  to  the  cistern. 

The  citadel  of  the  place  has  stood  at  the  east,  or 
projecting,  end  of  the  platform.     Next  adjoining  it  is 
an  old  temple^  with  the  bases  of  four  columns  in  situ, 
23 


342  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

and  about  a  dozen  columns  lying  prostrate,  but  un- 
broken, in  a  row  in  close  order — overthrown  more 
probably  by  an  earthquake  than  by  man.  There 
have  been  side  aisles,  running  north  and  south,  by 
the  side  of  the  columns;  and  from  some  indications  at 
the  east  end,  which  is  heaped  with  rubbish,  I  think 
the  temple  may  have  been  utilized  as  a  Christian  Ba- 
silican  church.  To  the  south  of  this  temple  are  the 
ruins  of  a  Christian  church,  with  its  apse  remaining; 
and  eastward,  another  fine  deep  tank,  which  has  once 
been  vaulted,  like  that  below,  but  the  roof  of  which  is 
now  broken  in. 

The  near  foreground  was  more  interesting  than 
from  Nebo,  and  the  undulations,  on  all  sides,'  abound 
in  stone  circles  and  dolmens.  The  view  was  indeed 
superb,  though  the  distant  prospect  was  inferior  to 
that  from  Nebo.  Still,  it  must  be  much  the  same  as 
that  which  greeted  the  eyes  of  Balaam  from  Baal- 
peor;  and  again  it  vividly  brought  back  the  realiza- 
tion of  the  glimpse  granted  to  Moses:  "This  is  the 
land  which  I  sware  unto  Abraham,  unto  Isaac,  and 
unto  Jacob,  saying,  I  will  give  it  unto  thy  seed :  I 
have  caused  thee  to  see  it  with  thine  eyes"  (Deut. 
xxxiv.,  4). 

The  ground  fell  in  terraces,  for  3000  feet,  to  the 
Jordan  Valley ;  so  that  the  plain  of  Shittim  seemed 
to  be  spread  in  its  whole  extent  at  our  feet,  like  a 
map — the  lower  course  of  the  Jordan  and  its  mouth, 
together  with  its  plain  as  far  up  as  opposite  She- 
chem.     The  hill  country  of  Judea  and  Samaria  as 


THE   CITIES   OF   THE   PLAIN.  343 

far  as  Carmel  was  visible,  but  we  lost  Tabor;  and  the 
more  distant  peaks  of  Ilermon  and  Bashan  were  shut 
out  by  Mount  Gilead. 

We  had,  however,  a  rare  opportunity  of  cross-ques- 
tioning our  guide,  and  mapping  all  the  nearer  wadys, 
which  have  been  already  named.  The  long  Ayun 
Moussa,  to  the  north  of  us,  was  an  interesting  feature. 
Dry  now  in  its  upper  part,  we  could  see  where  the 
waters  burst  forth,  with  a  life-giving  gush,  from  under 
the  cliffs,  and  the  series  of  tiny  cascades  by  which  it 
bounds  down  the  valley. 

I  have  pointed  out  minutely  the  features  of  the 
view  from  Zi'ara,  because  they  have  a  very  important 
bearing  on  the  identification  of  this  ancient  site,  and 
corroborate  in  the  minutest  particular  what,  I  am 
convinced,  is  one  of  the  most  important  results  of  our 
expedition — the  identification  of  Zi'ara  with  the  Zoar 
of  the  book  of  Genesis.  There  is  an  identity,  more 
exact  than  often  occurs  in  ancient  and  modern  no- 
menclature, between  the  Hebrew  "i?ia:  (Zo'ar),  and  the 
Arabic  s,Lc)  (Zi'ara) ;  and  it  is  to  be  noted  that  the 
Jerusalem  Targum  writes  the  name  "i"'?s,  still  more 
closely  identified  with  the  Arabic. 

It  seems  evident,  on  a  careful  examination  of  the 
Scriptural  account  of  "the  cities  of  the  plain,"  that 
they  must  have  been  situated  in  the  "ciccar,"  or 
"shor,"  of  Jordan,  at  the  north  end  of  the  Dead  Sea. 
It  is  unnecessary  to  recapitulate  at  length  the  argu- 
ments for  assigning  this  site.  That  they  were  sub- 
merged we  have  no  historical  record  whatever;  and 


344  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

the  whole  tenor  both  of  the  history  and  of  geological 
evidence  is  directly  opposed  to  such  a  hypothesis. 

There  are  thus  only  two  possible  localities — the 
lower  end  of  the  lake  and  the  upper.  Formerly  the 
southern  site  was  assumed  (as  by  Dr.  Robinson)  with- 
out question,  from  the  general  tradition,  which  can 
not  be  traced  further  back  than  the  time  of  Josephus 
and  Jerome,  who  speak  of  a  Zoar  in  that  region. 
This  view  was  further  supported  by  the  name  of 
Jebel  Usduni  (?  Sodom)  at  the  south  end,  and  by  the 
name  of  "Lot's  Wife,"  given  to  the  many  pillars  of 
salt  detached  from  time  to  time  from  the  salt  cliffs. 
But  Professor  Palmer  has  found  a  "Bint  Sheik  Lot" 
(Lot's  wife)  midway  up  the  eastern  side,  which  con- 
siderably weakens  the  force  of  this  coincidence  of 
name. 

But  for  the  northern  site  we  have  the  argument 
from  the  simple  statement  of  the  inspired  writer, 
who  calls  them  "  the  cities  of  the  plain,"  or  circle, 
"ciccar,"  of  Jordan  —  an  expression  which  can  not 
possibly  apply  to  any  other  than  the  northern  end  of 
the  Dead  Sea.  Abraham  and  Lot  were  standing  be- 
tween Bethel  and  Hai,  when  "Lot  lifted  up  his  eyes, 
and  beheld  all  the  plain  of  Jordan,  that  it  was  well 
watered  everywhere,  before  the  Lord  destroyed  Sod- 
om and  Gomorrah,  even  as  the  garden  of  the  Lord, 
like  the  land  of  Egypt,  as  thou  earnest  unto  Zoar. 
Then  Lot  chose  him  all  the  plain  of  Jordan  ;  and  Lot 
journeyed  east''^  (Gen.  xiii.,  10, 11).  Now,  from  these 
hills  it  is  impossible  to  gain  a  glimpse  of  the  south 


chedorlaomer's  route.  345 

end  of  the  Dead  Sea,  shut  off  by  distance  and  by  lofty 
intervening  mountains;  while  the  plain  of  Jericho, 
and  its  far  more  extensive  sister  plain  of  Shittim,  or 
the  Seisaban,  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  are  spread 
almost  at  the  beholder's  feet. 

Corroborative  arguments  may  also  be  found  in  the 
incident  mentioned  (Gen.  xix.,  28),  that  "Abraham 
from  Mam  re  looked  toward  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
and  toward  all  the  land  of  the  plain,"  after  the  de- 
struction of  the  cities.  Though  the  vale  itself  is  not 
visible  from  the  hills  above  Hebron  or  Mamre,  yet 
the  depression  between  the  nearer  hills  and  those  of 
Gilead  can  be  perceived,  and  Abraham  could  at  once 
identify  the  locality  whence  the  smoke  arose. 

Again,  in  the  account  of  the  raid  of  Chedorlaomer 
(Gen.  xiv.)  we  find  that  the  invader,  after  he  smote 
the  Horites  in  Mount  Seir  (or  Edom),  then  attacked 
the  Amalekites  and  the  Amorites,  in  Hazezon-tamar, 
or  Engedi.  After  this,  he  met  the  King  of  Sodom 
and  his  confederates  in  the  vale  of  Siddim,  and  re- 
turned toward  Damascus.  The  account  of  Chedor- 
laomer's route  is  quite  unintelligible  if  the  cities  were 
south  of  the  Dead  Sea;  but  if  they  were  to  the  north 
of  it,  there  is  perfect  topographical  sequence  in  the 
whole  narrative. 

The  rediscovery  of  the  site  of  Zoar  in  Zi'ara  also 
at  once  explains  an  expression  which  has  been  a  most 
perplexing  crux  to  every  Biblical  geographer.  In 
the  view  granted  to  Moses  from  Mount  Nebo  (Deut. 
xxxiv.,  3)  he  beheld  "  the  south,  and  the  plain  of  the 


346  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

valley  of  Jericho,  the  city  of  palm-trees,  unto  Zoar.^^ 
I  had  always  been  perplexed  by  this  expression, 
and  was  led  at  one  time  to  suggest  that  Zoar  might 
have  been  on  the  west  side,  near  the  headland  of 
Feshkhah  (Pisgah),  some  miles  south  of  Jericho,  and 
visible  from  Nebo. 

But,  read  by  the  light  of  this  discovery,  the  solution 
is  simple  enough.  The  narrative  is  describing  the 
panorama  from  north  to  south,  and  ends  by  the  fea- 
ture nearest  the  spectator — i  e.,  the  city  in  front  of 
him.  Now  we  detected  these  ruins  while  standing 
on  Nebo.  They  are  the  nearest  feature  in  the  land- 
scape directly  in  front,  perched  on  a  low  brow,  almost 
in  a  line  with  Jericho,  and  the  object  on  which  the 
eye  would  naturally  rest  in  its  survey,  next  after  the 
Jordan  plain. 

One  expression  now  may  be  noticed,  in  confirma- 
tion of  the  identification.  Zoar,  though  on  a  hill, 
must  have  had  higher  ground  behind  it;  for  we  read 
(Gen.  xix.,  30)  that  "  Lot  went  up  out  of  Zoar,  and 
dwelt  in  the  mountain  ...  in  a  cave."  Here  we 
have  higher  ground  behind  Zi'ara,  and  that,  too, 
pierced  by  many  caves.  Heshbon,  also,  only  a  few 
miles  distant,  was  the  original  seat  of  the  Moabites 
(Numb,  xxi.,  26). 

It  may  be  added  that  there  is  no  reason,  from  the 
details  given  us  in  Scripture,  for  assigning  to  the 
cities  of  the  plain  a  location  on  the  west,  rather  than 
the  east,  side  of  the  river;  and  as  the  plain  of  Shittim 
is  much  more  extensive  than  that  of  Jericho,  and  the 


THE    "SPRINGS   OF   MOSES."  347 

Jordan  possesses  three  fords,  passable,  except  during 
the  season  of  the  floods,  in  its  lower  reach,  it  is  prob- 
able that  some,  at  least,  of  the  four  cities  were  on  the 
farther  side. 

On  referring  to  Mr.  Grove's  article  in  Smith's  "Dic- 
tionary of  the  Bible,"  which  I  had  not  previously  ex- 
amined, I  find  that  he  has  indicated,  by  a  priori  argu- 
ments, this  very  district  as  the  probable  site  of  Zoar. 
"It  is  highly  probable,"  he  remarks,  "that  the  Zoar 
of  the  Pentateuch  was  to  the  north  of  the  Dead  Sea, 
not  far  from  its  northern  end,  in  the  general  parallel 
of  Jericho.  That  it  was  on  the  east  side  of  the  valley 
seems  to  be  implied  in  the  fact  that  the  descendants 
of  Lot,  the  Moabites  and  Ammonites,  are  in  posses- 
sion of  that  country  as  their  original  seat  when  they 
first  appear  in  the  sacred  history.  It  seems  to  follow 
that  the  "mountain"  in  which  Lot  and  his  daughters 
dwelt  when  Moab  and  Ben-ammi  were  born,  was  the 
mountain  to  which  he  was  advised  to  flee  by  the  an- 
gel, and  between  which  and  Sodom  stood  Zoar.  It  is 
also  in  favor  of  its  position  north  of  the  Dead  Sea, 
that  the  earliest  information  as  to  the  Moabites  makes 
their  original  seat  in  the  plains  of  Heshbon,  north-east 
of  the  lake — not,  as  afterward,  in  the  mountains  on 
the  south-east,  to  which  they  were  driven  by  the  Am- 
orites." — Bible  Dictionary^  "Zoar." 

From  Zi'ara  we  turned  northward  to  descend  into 
the  valley  of  Ayun  Moussa — "  Springs  of  Moses  " — 
or,  as  it  is  called  lower  down,  Wady  Jerifeh.  After 
half  an  hour's  brisk  ride,  we  had  to  pull  up  on  a  ter- 


348  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

race  and  leave  our  horses,  wbile  we  scrambled  down 
on  foot  to  the  springs  below,  the  proper  path  down 
being  on  the  other  side  of  the  ravine.  Our  sudden 
arrival  put  to  flight,  in  a  panic,  a  number  of  Arab 
women  who  were  filling  goat-skins  from  the  precious 
fountain,  and  lading  a  score  of  asses,  but  who  rushed 
pell-mell  up  the  opposite  path  as  fast  as,  with  screams 
and  sticks,  thej  could  urge  their  animals. 

To  describe  Ayun  Moussa  is  not  easy.  One  is 
easily  tempted  to  exaggerate  ;  for  in  this  thirsty  land 
a  perennial  spring  gives  an  air  of  fair  enchantment 
to  the  scene,  from  its  startling  contrast  with  the  arid 
bluffs  around.  These  springs  are  supposed  to  derive 
their  name  from  the  tradition  of  their  having  been 
the  resting-place  of  Moses  on  his  way  to  Pisgah. 
There  are  two  fountains,  or  rather  two  groups  of 
springs,  bursting  from  the  foot  of  a  tall  line  of  cliffs. 
The  first  group  run  for  a  short  distance  over  a  shelf 
of  rock,  shaded  by  some  fine  old  fig-trees,  under 
which  we  sat  for  our  midday  meal,  which  was  fla- 
vored with  water-cress  gathered  on  the  spot.  A  few 
yards  farther  on,  several  smaller  springs  issue  from 
fissures  in  the  cliff,  soon  unite  their  streams  on  a 
broad,  wide  shelf  of  rock,  and  then  form  a  pretty  cas- 
cade, about  twenty-five  feet  high,  the  effect  of  which 
in  winter,  over  the  horseshoe-shaped  ledge,  must  be 
very  fine. 

The  real  beauty  of  the  fall  is  best  seen  on  descend- 
ing, when  the  overhanging  platform  is  found  to  be 
the  roof  of  a  cave  with  a  chord  of  sixty  3^ards,  its 


CASCADES   AND   CAVES.  349 

front  partially  built  up  with  stalagmite  below  and 
stalactite  above,  and  water  dropping  in  all  directions. 
But  who  can  do  justice  to  the  beauty  of  its  adornings? 
The  roof  is  one  mass  of  pendent  fronds  of  maiden- 
hair fern ;  the  sides  are  tapestried  with  them  ;  the 
floor  is  carpeted  with  them.  Happy  maiden-hair ! — 
here,  at  least,  safe  from  extermination  at  the  hands 
of  collecting  maniacs! 

Fig-trees  cast  their  massive  shnde  over  the  mouth 
of  the  cave,  and  overhang  the  lower  falls  very  little 
farther  down,  and  about  fifty  feet  in  height.  Hence 
the  water  hurries  rapidly  down  the  wady,  dotted  with 
fine  terebinths  and  patches  of  cultivation.  Climbing 
up  again  to  the  springs,  we  walk  along  a  path  under 
the  line  of  cliffs,  till  we  come  to  a  series  of  caves  in 
its  face,  which  have  been  walled  up  with  masonry, 
leaving  only  low  square  -  headed  door -ways,  origi- 
nally tombs,  but  now  occasionally  used  as  folds  by 
goat-herds. 

Near  these,  the  second  of  the  twin  "Springs  of 
Moses"  bursts  from  a  deep  horizontal  tunnel  in  the 
rock,  about  fifteen  inches  in  diameter.  The  volume 
of  water  is  greater  than  that  of  the  other  spring  ;  and 
both  fountains  and  stream,  clear  as  crystal,  have  ev- 
ery stone  and  pebble  of  their  gravelly  bed  covered 
with  the  glossy  black  shells  of  AWitina  and  Melanop- 
sis.  This  stream  joins  the  other,  after  the  cascades, 
by  a  series  of  smaller  leaps.  "We  could  here  look 
down  its  course  till  it  enters  the  Seisaban  ;  and  had 
a  peep  of  a  bit  of  the  Jordan  Valley,  set  in  a  frame  of 


350  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

mountain  and  rock,  with  green  hill-sides  in  all  the 
lower  part. 

A  good  path  runs  parallel  to  the  water-course  up 
to  the  last  tops  of  the  ridge,  before  the  Wady  Hesh- 
ban  and  its  tributaries  divide  it  from  the  heights  to 
the  north.  We  soon  get  into  the  roots  of  innumera- 
ble wadys,  and  rise  to  a  series  of  crescent -shaped 
knolls,  the  crest  of  the  ridge,  of  which  Nebo  is  the 
southernmost.  These  all  bear  in  common  the  name 
of  M'Shuggar,  which,  however,  is  more  especially  ap- 
plied to  the  one  on  which  are  the  ruins  of  an  ancient 
city  of  the  same  name.  Each  view  was  new,  and  we 
rode  unconcernedly  at  will,  with  or  without  our  guide, 
as  he  stopped  to  "liquor  up"  on  "leben,"  at  an  Arab 
camp,  or  took  a  lazy  short  cut  over  the  shoulder  of  a 
hill,  or  unwillingly  followed  our  lead. 

We  were  now  on  the  border-land  of  several  tribes, 
some  of  them  strangers  to  us,  but  all  peaceably  dis- 
posed, though  they  knew  nothing  of  the  Franghi. 
On  one  hill -side  I  had  dismounted,  when  alone,  to 
secure  a  partridge ;  my  horse  at  the  moment  espied 
a  camp  in  the  bottom,  and  galloped  off  to  make  some 
equine  acquaintance.  Up  and  down  I  had  to  toil, 
under  the  scorching  sun,  for  an  hour,  till  at  length  he 
was  caught  among  some  tent  ropes  by  an  old  woman, 
who  was  in  ecstasies  over  a  very  trifling  backsheesh. 
Her  gratitude  would  not  allow  me  to  depart  without 
a  draught  of  "  leben."  "  She  brought  forth  butter  in 
a  lordly  dish,"  and  asked  if  I  were  a  Turkish  officer— 
the  only  foreigners  of  whom  she  seemed  to  have  any 
notion. 


HESHBON.  351 

In  the  valleys  were  the  camps  of  the  Belka  tribe. 
On  M'Shuggar  were  a  large  party  of  Ajermeh,  housed 
for  the  nonce  in  the  tombs  and  old  ruined  arches  of 
the  city.  Between  this  place  and  Heshbon  was  a 
camp  of  over  sixty  great  tents  of  Beni  Sakk'r,  while 
lines  of  their  tents  fringed  the  whole  way  at  intervals, 
during  an  hour's  ride,  with  their  flocks  and  camels 
spreading  over  the  eastern  plain.  Close  to  Heshbon, 
on  the  north,  was  an  encampment  of  the  Adwan,  the 
largest  camp  I  ever  saw — comprising,  in  fact,  the  whole 
tribe,  with  the  gaudy  Marabout  tents  of  some  Damas- 
cus merchants  conspicuous  in  their  midst. 

Heshbon  I  had  visited  before,  and  it  has  been  often 
described.  But  there  is  little,  of  a  place  once  fomed 
in  olden  story,  for  the  traveler  to  see.  A  large  piece 
of  walling  at  the  west  end  of  the  bold  isolated  hill  on 
which  the  old  fortress  stood,  with  a  square  block- 
house, and  a  pointed  archway  adjoining — a  temple 
on  the  crest  of  the  hill,  with  the  pavement  unbroken 
and  the  bases  of  four  columns  still  in  situ  —  on  the 
east,  in  the  plain,  just  at  the  base  of  the  hill,  a  great 
cistern,  called  by  some  the  "  fish-pools  of  Heshbon," 
but  more  probably  only  the  reservoir  for  the  supply 
of  the  city — these  are  all  that  remain. 

On  the  east  was  the  wide,  grassy  plain ;  and  here 
we  took  our  last  regretful  gaze  at  the  haunts  of  the 
past  month,  with  Shihan,  Ziza,  Kustul,  and  many  oth- 
er points  now  so  familiar ;  while  the  desert  hills  be- 
yond Zebib  and  Mashita  fringed  the  far  horizon.  The 
cleft  of  the  Callirrhoe  faintly  shows;  and  beyond  it 


352  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB, 

the  table-land  south  of  the  Arnon,  several  feet  higher 
than  that  to  the  north  of  it,  forms  a  background. 
The  Wady  Heshban  begins  just  to  the  west  of  the 
ruins  and  the  side  of  the  hill ;  and  the  opposite  slopes 
are  honey-combed  with  caves  and  ancient  sepulchres, 
now  the  sleeping-places  of  living  goats. 

Leaving  the  photographers  at  work,  Hayne  and  I 
rode  down  to  visit  the  Scriptural  site  of  Elealeh,  now 
El  'Ahl,  the  road  to  which  is  well  defined  across  the 
plain.  Descending  the  hill,  we  found  ourselves  at 
once  in  the  great  Adwan  camp.  Tall  spears,  with 
their  tufts  of  black  ostrich  feathers,  marked  the  quar- 
ters of  the  chiefs,  Diab  and  Goblan.  Men  and  dogs 
turned  out  to  salute  us — among  the  former  many  a 
companion  of  my  former  expedition,  especially  Gob- 
lan's  son,  who  told  us  his  father  had  ridden  down  the 
valley  to  our  camp,  to  welcome  his  old  comrade.  Get- 
ting free  from  them,  we  spurred  at  a  hard  gallop  to 
Elealeh.  We  were  out  of  Beni  Sakk'r  land  now,  and 
were  eyed  suspiciously  by  the  strangers  we  passed. 
One  armed  horseman,  on  the  top  of  the  mound,  gave 
us  but  a  cold  salute ;  and  as  he  looked  like  backsheesh, 
we  sheered  off.  We  glanced  at  the  waif  of  a  column 
standing  solitary  among  the  stone-heaps  of  desolate 
Elealeh,  peeped  over  toward  Wady  Na'ur  and  the 
north,  and  cantered  back. 

Where  was  our  camp  ?  The  sun  was  getting  low, 
and  no  time  was  to  be  lost.  One  horseman  had  re- 
mained for  us.  Our  faith  in  our  guide's  knowledge 
was  not  great;   but  our  halting-place  had  been  ar- 


SHEIK   GOBLAN.  353 


ranged  to  be  in  the  Heshbon  Valley,  and  down  the 
rugged  wady  we  could  not  well  lose  our  way.  It 
waTa  romantic  little  glen,  the  scenery  very  Scotch, 
except  for  the  endless  herds  of  camels,  brought  here 
for  the  foaling  season,  and  each  of  which  had  her 
grunting  colt  by  her  side. 

"^  We  rapidly  descended,  passing  the  castle  of  'Al  on 
our  right.  The  sun  had  set,  but  no  water  yet  in  the 
bed  of  the  wady,  and  our  men  would  not  have  pitched 
till  they  had  found  water.  At  length  a  frog's  croak 
and  a  jackass's  bray,  more  welcome  than  usual,  caught 
our  ear.  The  stream  was  running  freely,  with  many 
a  little  pool  swarming  with  fish-the  true  "fish-pools 
of  Heshbon ;"  and  soon  my  old  companion  of  eight 
years  ago.  Sheik  Goblan,  of  the  Adwan,  came  forth, 
with  his  face  enveloped  in  the  folds  of  a  gray  "kefi- 
yeh,"to  welcome  me  for  "auld  lang  syne." 

Goblan  had  brought  two  lambs  as  a  present,  and 
Zadam  three  more;  so  we  had  a  flock  of  seven  teth- 
ered to  our  tents.  Of  course,  we  entertained  our  vis- 
itor and  his  train  at  supper.  Zadam  had  gone  with 
his  Beni  Sakk'rs  to  enjoy  the  hospitality  of  Diab,  and 
the  Adwan.  It  would  have  implied  a  distrust  of 
Arab  chivalry,  had  he  or  his  guard  remained  with  us 
the  first  night  we  were  in  Adwan  territory,  jealous 
as  the  tribes  are  of  each  other.  Till  midnight  Go- 
blan sat,  recalling  old  experiences,  and  lamenting  these 
degenerate,  unwarlike  days.  He  is  no  common  char- 
f^ct°er— a  tall,  spare  man  of  over  sixty.  As  he  lifts 
his  kefiyeh  to  sip  his  soup,  he  discloses  a  long  gray 


354  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

mustache,  and  a  ghastly  sabre  slash  on  his  cheek. 
His  left  eye,  bloodshot,  still  shows  the  mark  of  his  old 
wound.  His  eyes  are  covetous,  but  his  hand  is  of 
an  almost  velvet  softness — tiger-like,  perhaps,  when 
provoked. 

Evil  as  is  his  repute,  he  has  some  conscience,  and 
is  a  faithful  friend.  I  once  had  from  him  the  story 
of  his  first  crime.  When  a  very  young  man,  riding 
over  the  plain,  he  noticed  a  horseman  before  him  on 
a  splendid  iron-gray  mare :  the  demon  seized  him — 
he  resolved  he  would  have  the  mare ;  and,  watching 
his  opportunity,  he  speared  the  rider,  and  carried  off" 
the  animal.  The  murdered  man  was  a  Beni  Sakk'r, 
though  not  of  Zadam's  sept.  The  man  was  recog- 
nized, and  the  crime  suspected.  Years  have  passed, 
and  Goblan  knows  not  the  name  nor  the  family  of 
his  victim ;  but  he  feels  sure  that  some  one  has  vow- 
ed vengeance,  and  that  he  shall  yet  suffer  retribution. 
"  I  can  not  sleep,"  said  he,  "  without  seeing  the  gray 
mare  and  her  rider  before  me.  But  she  was  a  splen- 
did mare!  Who  would  not  have  killed  a  stranger 
for  her?"  Such  is  Arab  morality  —  such  is  man, 
fallen,  but  with  many  a  noble  trait,  yet  without  the 
Gospel ! 


WADY   HESHBAN. 


355 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

The  Wady  Heshban.— Goblan's  Affection.— Married  beneath  him.— 
Botany  of  North-west  Moab.  —  Ancient  Tablets  and  Tombs.— 
Changed  Featm-es  of  Scenery.— Circle  of  Dolmens.— Cairn.— De- 
scent to  the  Ghor.  —  Ghawarineh  Camp.— Old  Acquaintances.— 
Beth -haran.— Night-watch. — Excursion  down  the  Coast. —Beth- 
jeshimoth.— Camp  of  Israel.  — Wady  Jerifeh.— Ain  Suwaineh.— 
Vegetation  of  the  Shore.— Wady  Ghadeimeh.— Clear  Atmosphere. 
—Rich  Coloring.— Wady  Ghuweir.  — Arab  Battle-field.  — Falcons. 
—Our  Path  blocked.— Palm-groves.— A  Halt.— Ornithology.— An 
Arab  Collector.— Gale  of  Wind.— The  Tents  carried  off.— A  sound 
Sleeper.— Ride  to  the  Jordan.— Ferry-boat.— Return  to  Civiliza- 
tion.—Jericho.— Our  old  Camping-ground.— Bethany  in  Spring.— 
Entry  into  Jerusalem.— Our  Wanderings  ended. 

The  Wady  Heshban,  in  which  we  camped  for  our 
last  night  in  the  highUmds  of  Moab,  has  many  inter- 
esting and  peculiar  features.  It  does  not  appear  to 
have  been  followed  down  its  whole  course  by  any 
previous  travelers,  as  the  ordinary  road  to  the  Jordan 
and  Jerusalem  descends  to  the  north  of  it.  But  we 
selected  this  route  with  the  view  of  examining  the 
Seisaban,  or  plains  of  Shittim,  and  especially  its  south- 
ern and  unexplored  portion. 

The  wady  is  full  of  ruins,  old  and  modern,  through 
its  whole  course.  Just  opposite  to  our  tents,  on  the 
south  side,  was  the  Castle  of  Sumia,  a  dilapidated 
though  modern  structure,  but  built  by  the  side  of, 
and  with  materials  from,  some  evidently  more  antique 


356  THE  la:sd  of  moab. 

remains.  It  has  been  a  frontier  Adwan  fortress. 
Under  the  chflf,  close  to  the  castle,  a  delicious  and  co- 
pious spring  bursts  from  the  rock,  and  has  formerly 
been  used  to  turn  a  corn-mill,  now  in  ruins. 

Zadam  returned  to  us  in  the  morning ;  but  it  re- 
quired some  diplomacy  to  shake  off  Goblan  and  our 
dozen  attendant  Adwan  visitors.  Unlike  the  Beni 
Sakk'r,  they  were  perpetually  in  and  out  of  our  tents, 
assuring  us  that  pure  friendship  had  brought  them, 
and  that  nothing  should  separate  us  till  we  crossed 
the  Jordan.  In  vain  we  demurred  to  too  stately  a 
retinue,  till  at  length,  as  the  old  chief  was  assuring  us 
of  his  eternal  friendship,  I  gave  him  a  hearty  hand- 
shake, and  during  the  operation  a  few  gold -pieces 
passed  from  my  palm  to  his.  The  hint  was  taken 
that  this  was  a  final  backsheesh,  and,  after  a  little 
formal  hand  -  kissing,  we  parted  the  best  of  friends, 
Goblan  hoping  that  ere  long  I  should  bring  my  "sit- 
ta"  (lady)  to  see  Amman  and  Gerash  ;  which  I  prom- 
ised to  accomplish  so  soon  as  my  purse  should  be  full 
enough, 

Zadam's  manners,  meantime,  were  above  criticism — 
unobtrusive  to  us;  toward  the  petty  chieftains  and 
dependents  showing  a  nonchalant  and  dignified  supe- 
riority. Among  the  Arabs,  as  elsewhere,  the  husband 
ennobles  the  wife — the  wife  descends  to  the  rank  of 
her  husband.  Zadam  had  just  concluded  a  matrimo- 
nial engagement  (his  third)  with  a  daughter  of  the 
Adwan,  reputed  to  be  the  belle  of  the  country  ;  but 
he  scornfully  repelled,  this  very  day  (as  we  afterward 


AN'CIENT   TABLETS. 


357 


learned),  the  proposal  of  a  son  of  Sheik  Diab  for  his 
own  sister.  "No;  a  Beni  Sakk'r  may  raise  an  Ad- 
wan,  but  a  daughter  of  the  Sakk'r  stoops  not  below 
her  own  tribe." 

This  north-west  corner  of  Moab  differs,  both  in  ap- 
pearance and  flora,  from  the  rest.  At  starting  we  had 
to  make  rather  a  long  ascent  on  the  southern  side  of 
the  ravine.  Marked  was  the  cotitrast  between  the 
rugged  red  sandstone  cliffs,  sharp  .and  precipitous, 
dotted  with  eagles'  and  vultures'  nests,  which  formed 
the  north  wall  of  the  wady  ;  and  the  more  gentle  ter- 
raced slopes,  covered  with  luxuriant  verdure,  un- 
scorched  by  the  sun,  which  bounded  it  on  the  south. 

Common  home  weeds,  English  dead  nettles,  black 
bryony,  mingle  with  maiden -hair  and  palm-trees. 
Gray  rocks,  thrown  in  massive  boulders  into  the  bed 
of  a  bubbling  stream,  and  pitched  hither  and  thither 
among  grassy  slopes,  alternating  with  crags  full  of 
eyries,  recall  the  features  of  a  Cumberland  dale.  The 
little  sparkling  pools,  alive  with  fish,  these  are  surely 
the  "fish-pools  of  Heshbon,"  to  which  the  loved  one's 
eyes  are  likened  (Cant,  vii.,  4),  rather  than  the  stag- 
nant tanks  of  rain-water,  which  are  all  that  could 
ever  have  existed  close  to  the  city. 

Some  of  the  enormous  limestone  boulders  and 
blocks,  which  have  fallen  from  the  cliffs  and  are  strewn 
in  the  wady,  have  had  chambers,  evidently  sepulchral, 
hollowed  in  them  as  they  lay  ;  and  many  others  have 
had  their  faces  carefully  incised  for  tablets,  of  which 
the  inscription  or  sculpture  is  now  completely  effaced. 

24 


358  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

Several  of  these  tablets  are  not  inferior  in  size  or  ap- 
parent antiquity  to  the  famed  Egyptian  and  Assyrian 
tablets  of  the  Dog  Eiver,  near  Bey  root. 

The  English  character  of  the  scene  soon  changes. 
The  ravine  rapidly  deepens,  and  widens  to  a  succes- 
sion of  terraces,  on  many  of  which  are  perched  heaps 
of  ruins.  We  strike  away  from  it  to  the  southward, 
and,  rounding  the  buttresses  of  the  mountains,  again 
come  in  sight  of  Zi'ara  and  other  high  points  already 
visited. 

The  nomenclature  of  the  Arabs  for  these  ruins  is 
limited.  All  those  on  the  ridge  between  Wady  Je- 
deid  and  Ayun  Moussa,  west  of  Nebbeh,  are  either 
Zi'ara  or  Muslubiyeh  ;  while  all  on  the  range  between 
Ayun  Moussa  and  Wady  Heshban  are  indiscrimi- 
nately M'Shuggar — the  name  of  the  ridge  itself.  In 
fact,  these  minor  ruins  have  no  distinctive  name,  and 
they  can  never  have  been  more  than  most  insignifi- 
cant villages  at  best.  The  range  running  between 
the  Heshban  and  Wady  Na'ur  is  called  Jebel  Zabood. 

As  we  descend,  we  soon  find  ourselves  again  in  a 
•wide  open  gorge,  dotted  here  and  there  by  the  cairns 
of  stones  raised  over  the  death-spot  of  some  Bedouin 
warrior.  A  Roman  road  has  once  wound  down  the 
valley,  and  we  passed  two  prostrate  mile  -  stones. 
Sandstone  took  the  place  of  limestone,  and  bits  of 
purple,  red,  and  violet  hue  varied  the  coloring.  We 
had  scarcely  been  three  hours  in  the  saddle  when  we 
descended  on  the  edge  of  the  Ghor  Seisaban,  and  en- 
tered on  an  open,  undulating  plateau. 


THE   GHAWARINEII   AGAIN'.  359 

On  the  last  rocky  eminence  which  pushed  forward 
.into  it,  were  the  most  perfect  primeval  remains  we 
had  found  in  the  country.  Round  the  slightly-ele- 
vated crest  at  the  western  end  of  the  ridge  was  a  per- 
fect circle  of  dolmens,  each  composed  of  three  upright 
and  one  covering  stone.  Several  of  them  had  fallen, 
but  the  stones  were  in  their  places,  and  it  was  clear 
that  they  had  been  arranged  in  a  circle  round  a  great 
cairn,  or  central  pile  of  stones,  which  crowned  the 
"  tell,"  and  doubtless  marked  the  burial-place  of  some 
hero  fomous  in  his  day,  but  who  lived  before  Aga- 
memnon. 

We  debouched  on  the  plain  close  to  where  the 
stream  of  the  Heshban  issues.  The  vegetation  had 
been  rapidly  changing  with  the  temperature,  and  now 
both  were  truly  tropical.  Just  at  the  edge  of  the  sul- 
try plain  was  a  large  Ghawarineh  camp,  and  troops 
of  stark-naked  boys  playing  at  soldiers,  with  canes  for 
their  horses  and  spears.  Black  cattle  and  blue-clad 
women  were  roaming  in  all  directions. 

By  the  side  of  a  cane-shaded  stream,  under  a  thorny 
nubk-tree,  we  sat  down  to  lunch,  and  soon  found  our- 
selves surrounded  by  a  gaping  crowd.  They  were 
the  very  same  who  had  stared  at  us  in  the  Safieh,  but 
at  a  less  respectful  distance.  Meantime  they  had  mi- 
grated northward  by  the  shore  of  the  lake,  to  enjoy 
the  spring  pastures  of  the  Seisaban.  The  same  pair 
of  tall,  ill-favored  sheiks  appeared,  to  pay  their  re- 
spects. How  changed  their  maimers  now!  Instead 
of  hectoring,  the  caitiffs  were  cringing.     But  we  did 


360  THE    LAND   OF    MOAB. 

not  forget  their  insults  and  injuries,  and  were  cold 
and  distant  as  Zadani  himself. 

The  mules  were  still  far  behind  ;  and  having  agreed 
to  camp  at  the  edge  of  the  wilderness,  we  dispersed 
for  our  various  pursuits.  The  tropical  thickets,  with 
their  rare  birds,  were  tempting  enough  to  an  orni- 
thologist. I  strolled  on  alone  toward  a  conspicuous 
mound,  or  "  tell,"  which  might  be  artificial,  very  like 
the  great  mounds  of  Jericho,  and  its  top  crowned 
with  an  old  Moslem  wely,  or  tomb.  Its  name,  Beit- 
harran,  identifies  it  unmistakably  with  the  Beth-ha- 
ran  of  Numbers  xxxii.,  36,  one  of  the  fenced  cities 
built  bv  the  children  of  God,  and  mentioned  immedi- 
ately after  Beth-nimrah,  the  modern  Beit  N'meir,  also 
in  the  Jordan  plain,  and  only  a  few  miles  higher  up. 
On  the  mound,  and  along-side  of  it,  were  a  few  traces 
of  walls  and  foundations,  all  that  remains  of  the 
"  fenced  city." 

It  is  to  be  observed  that  throughout  the  whole  of 
the  lower  Jordan  Valley  there  is  a  remarkable  absence 
of  Roman  or  other  substantial  remains.  The  oppress- 
ive heat  of  the  low-lying  land  probably  discouraged 
permanent  occupation,  and  induced  the  cultivators  to 
reside  on  the  higher  grounds  above — as  to  this  day 
they  do,  above  the  fever-stricken  marshes  of  the  Hu- 
leh,  north  of  the  Sea  of  Galilee. 

From  Beit-harran  I  had  at  least  three  miles  to  walk 
before  reaching  the  open,  at  the  edge  of  which  our 
tents  were  pitched.  It  was  night-fall  before  I  reached 
them  ;  but  my  ramble  gave  me  some  idea  of  the  ex- 


A   NIGHTWATCII.  361 

tent  of  the  Seisaban,  by  far  ihe  most  extensive  and 
luxuriant  of  any  of  the  fertile  lands  bordering  on  the 
Dead  Sea. 

This  abundantly  watered  and  tree-covered  district, 
often  now  knee-deep  with  green  wheat,  extends  six 
miles  from  east  to  west,  and  ten  or  twelve  from  north 
to  south.  Looking  at  it  from  above,  we  can  see  how 
vastly  it  exceeds  the  oasis  of  Jericho  ;  as  well  it  may, 
with  the  exuberant  gush  of  water  from  the  springs 
at  the  base  of  the  range  of  the  Moab  mountains.  Its 
extent  and  depth  are  by  no  means  revealed  by  the 
glimpses  to  be  obtained  from  the  hills  above  Jericho. 
But,  like  the  Safieh,  its  thickets  only  afford  covert 
for  marauders  ;  and  it  is  notoriously  the  prey  of  law- 
less tribes,  and  the  Alsatia  of  Arab  criminals.  Our 
guard,  accordingly,  were  on  the  alert  in  our  new  camp ; 
and  our  chief  went  the  rounds,  inspecting  carefully 
the  arms,  to  see  that  they  were  loaded,  at  least  with 
powder;  for  noise,  as  he  observed,  is  the  best  thing 
to  scare  a  thief 

To  our  disquiet,  our  muleteers  acted  on  the  maxim  ; 
and  every  one,  if  he  happened  to  turn  in  his  sleep,  let 
off  a  pistol  to  prove  his  wakefulness.  We  now  felt 
grateful  indeed  to  Zadam,  who  had  not  insisted  on 
ball  in  addition  to  powder.  He,  however,  was  out 
of  the  way.  Having  ascertained  that  the  Beni  Ati- 
yeh,  with  whom  he  had  a  blood  feud,  were  prowling 
in  the  neighborhood,  he  had  taken  the  precaution  of 
arranging  his  bed  and  retiring  to  his  couch  with  lights 
in  his  tent ;   but  so  soon  as  they  were  extinguished 


362  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

he  crept  forth  in  the  darkness,  and,  descending  to  the 
banks  of  the  stream,  concealed  himself  in  the  densest 
of  canebrakes,  wrapped  in  his  a'bbe'yeh,  where  no 
nocturnal  prowlers  could  disturb  his  slumbers. 

Determined  to  complete  our  survey  of  the  coast- 
line, by  riding  down  to  the  shore  as  far  as  the  mouth 
of  the  Callirrhoe,  we  made  an  early  start  the  next 
morning.  The  fitful  wind,  which  had  gone  down  to- 
ward sunrise,  rose  again,  and  blew  a  suffocating  hur- 
ricane in  our  faces,  as  we  rode  across  the  Ghor  toward 
the  corner  of  the  sea. 

Three  miles  south-west  of  Beit-haran,  where  the 
vegetation  becomes  more  scant,  and  the  tangle  has 
degenerated  into  mere  scrub,  a  bare  mound  rises,  ut- 
terly destitute  of  vegetation,  but  with  some  canebrakes 
below  it,  which  project  forward,  a  few  green  lines, 
into  the  belt  of  waste  which  fringes  the  Jordan. 
These  brakes  are  fed  by  some  brackish  springs  which 
issue  forth  just  behind  the  mound,  and  to  which,  if 
artificial,  it  probably  owes  its  origin.  A  few  lines  of 
stones  are  all  that  remain  of  what  has  been  once  a 
fortified  town.  The  heap  is  said  to  be  Beth-jeshi- 
moth.  We  did  not  find  any  name  for  it  among  our 
Arabs ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  they  were 
out  of  their  own  territory,  and  we  had  no  inhabitants 
of  the  Ghor  with  us.  To  our  companions  all  places 
beyond  their  own  domain  were  merely  "Rujum" — 
"  a  heap." 

This  knoll  is  evidently  the  Beth-jesimuth  spoken 
of  by  Schwarz,  as  still  known  at  the  north-eastern- 


AIN   SUWAINEH.  363 

most  point  of  the  Dead  Sea;  for  it  is  the  only  spot 
answering  to  his  description.  The  Bibhcal  allusions 
to  the  place  harmonize  with  the  identification.  It  was 
"  in  the  plains  of  Moab  by  Jordan,  near  Jericho,"  and 
was  the  southern  limit  of  the  camp  of  Israel  before 
they  crossed  the  river,  Abel-shittim  being  the  north- 
ern (Numb,  xxxiii.,  48,  49),  and  was  allotted  to  the 
tribe  of  Reuben. 

From  this  point  the  plain  as  it  approaches  the  Jor- 
dan becomes  barer  and  barei',  though  still  the  con- 
trast between  the  east  and  west  sides  is  most  marked 
— utter  desolation  on  the  west,  scarcely  any  marl, 
and  only  scantier  vegetation,  on  the  east. 

Just  beyond  the  mounds,  we  crossed  a  little  water- 
course, the  Wady  Jerifeh,  which  is  simply  the  con- 
tinuation of  Wady  Ayun  Moussa.  The  water  here 
had  sunk  a  few  inches  below  the  gravel,  but  the 
herbage  around  could  reach  it,  and  was  knee -deep. 
Ten  minutes  afterward  we  crossed  the  bed  of  the 
Wady  Ghedeid.  All  these  water  -  courses  are,  of 
course,  no  longer  valleys,  but  mere  channels  in  the 
plain,  with  the  streams  more  or  less  permanent. 

In  half  an  hour  more  we  reached  Ain  Suwaineh, 
the  resting-place  of  Palmer  and  Drake,  with  a  heap 
of  shapeless  ruins  on  a  knoll  just  above  it.  There  is 
a  little  rock  a  few  feet  high  hidden  among  tall  canes, 
and  from  its  foot  bursts  forth,  most  unexpectedly,  this 
copious  stream,  running  down  almost  in  a  line  with 
the  head  of  the  Dead  Sea.  The  water  is  clear  and 
potable,  though   slightly  brackish.     All  below  it  is 


36-i  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

thick  with  canes  and  tamarislvs,  a  few  palms  spring- 
ing up  among  them. 

Thence,  in  twenty  minutes,  through  a  marsh  cover- 
ed with  rushes  and  the  broad  leaves  of  a  sea-lavender 
(Statice),  not  yet  in  flower,  we  reached  a  lovely  run- 
ning stream,  with  poplars  and  willows  along  its  course, 
and  buried  in  their  thickets,  sunk  among  marly  cliffs. 
This  is  the  only  spot,  except  the  Lisan,  where  this 
formation,  so  general  on  the  western  side,  remains  on 
the  eastern.  About  the  wady,  the  soil  is  cut  up  into 
every  fantastic  shape,  worked  into  mock  forts  and 
mamelons,  with  buildings  and  bastions  that  might 
have  trained  a  Vauban.  Very  soon  after  leaving  this 
Wady  Ghedeimeh  (which  is  the  continuation  of  the 
Jedeid,  the  southern  wady  of  Nebo),  we  crossed  the 
little  Burrhoughat. 

We  were  now  out  of  the  Seisaban,  and  under  the 
headlands  along  the  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea;  but  still 
the  vegetation  continued  without  interruption.  Even 
amidst  masses  of  rocks  and  boulders  there  are  shrubs, 
and  flowers  springing  up  in  every  chink.  A  pretty 
blue  campanula  was  the  characteristic  new  plant  of 
the  first  low  headland  we  had  to  cross.  Here  alone, 
during  our  day's  expedition,  we  met  with  a  numbei- 
of  small  basaltic  boulders,  strewn  over  the  surface — 
all  the  rest  was  red  sandstone. 

Our  track  led  us  over  broken  ground  for  several 
miles,  ever  and  again  bringing  us  to  the  little  pebbly 
bays  between  the  low  headlands.  Sheltered  from  the 
stifling  sirocco  gusts  by  the  mountains,  which  gradu- 


PICTURESQUE   GLEN.  365 

ally  narrow  the  low-lying  "gbor,"  or  plain,  of  the 
sea-board,  the  day  was  intensely  to  be  enjoyed. 

A  peerless  sky,  after  the  dull  and  leaden  heat-haze 
of  the  day  before — the  sea  a  biilliant  blue,  its  surface 
rippled  by  the  breeze — the  wilderness  of  Judea  be- 
yond, with  light  and  shade  brought  out  in  sharp  re- 
lief, while  the  sun  was  still  in  its  eastern  quarter — the 
foreground  carpeted  with  flowers,  sheets  of  delicate 
coloring,  now  pale  lilac  from  a  statice,  now  as  softly 
red,  from  the  sorrel  in  flower  and  fruit  —  such  were 
the  chief  features  of  the  landscape.  Deep  green  haw- 
thorns among  the  rocks,  and  the  fresh  foliage  of  the 
white  poplars  on  the  banks  of  the  sea,  relieved  the 
eye,  after  the  monotonous  coloring  of  most  of  the 
trees  and  shrubs  of  the  country — a  dull  olive  hue, 
without  the  charm  of  the  silvery  underleaf  twinkling 
in  the  breeze. 

Scarcely  an  hour  after  crossing  Burroughat  we 
reached  the  Ghuweir,  the  stream  which  flows  from 
"the  ravine  of  the  wolf,"  Wady  Ed  Deib,  north  of 
Medeba.  This  would  be  the  very  spot  in  which  to 
camp,  for  any  one  bent  on  a  minute  exploration  of 
these  wild  recesses.  The  stream  is  sweet  and  copious, 
shaded  by  fine  poplars,  willows,  and  the  oleander,  al- 
ready in  blossom  ;  while  its  thickets  are  full  of  north- 
ern blackbirds  and  thrushes,  enjoying  here  a  second 
summer.  The  stream,  before  reaching  the  sea,  crosses 
a  little  piece  of  open  plain;  but  only  a  few  hundred 
yards  farther  back  it  issues  from  a  narrow  glen,  with 
cliffs  scarcely  inferior  to  those  of  the  Callirrhoe.     I 


366  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

explored  it  for  an  hour  on  our  way  back.  Colonies 
of  kestrels  were  noisily  debating  far  overhead;  the 
fine  Alpine  swifts  had  already  returned,  and  dashed, 
shrieking,  from  their  inaccessible  chinks;  and  a  rook- 
ery of  square-tailed  ravens  were  amusing  themselves 
by  the  futile  pursuit  of  a  lanner  falcon. 

Close  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ghuweir  are  a  number 
of  small  modern  cairns,  marking  some  Arab  battle- 
field, called  Hawara,  on  a  long,  projecting  shoulder; 
and  an  insignificant  ruined  site  below,  some  ancient 
village,  named  Anazeh.  Just  south  of  these  remains  a 
belt  of  yellow  rock  appeared,  as  if  poured  down  from 
the  mountains  above.  No  doubt  it  was  a  sulphur- 
ous deposit,  for  the  peculiar  plants  of  the  hot  springs 
suddenly  re-appeared.*  The  asclepiad  of  Josephus 
abounded,  and  the  sulphur-plant  was  in  profusion, 

A  little  farther  on  we  passed  a  magnificent  cleft, 
rather  than  a  wady,  for  it  does  not  reach  far  into  the 
mountains — Wady  Sakk'r.  The  gully  was  clad  with 
fine  palm-trees  from  top  to  bottom,  and  a  pair  of 
Sakk'r  falcons  were  swooping  round  and  round  our 
heads  as  we  approached  too  near  their  nest  on  the 
cliffs.  They  had  formed,  however,  too  high  an  esti- 
mate of  our  scaling  powers,  for  the  eyrie  was  absolute- 
ly inaccessible.  Johnson  took  the  opportunity  of  pho- 
tographing the  ravine,  while  we  passed  on  to  recon- 
noitre the  nest  of  a  second  pair  of  flilcons,  equally  safe 
from  the  most  adventurous  climber. 

*  See  pp.  268,  269. 


A    RUGGED    PATH.  867 

Proceeding  southward,  we  were  soon  face  to  face 
with  a  rugged  headland  which,  at  first  sight,  appear- 
ed completely  to  bar  all  passage  for  man  or  horse. 
Ayeed,  our  guide,  declared  the  road  to  end  here,  and 
advised  us  to  sit  down  and  eat,  and  content  ourselves 
with  looking  at  the  mouth  of  the  Callirrhoe  through 
our  glasses.  As  we  remained  unconvinced,  he  adroit- 
ly led  us  into  a  maze  of  boulders  really  impractica- 
ble for.  horses,  while  an  overhanging  cliff  shut  out 
the  only  view  of  the  real  track  higher  up.  His  dodge 
failed,  for  we  announced  our  intention  of  leaving  the 
horses  and  proceeding  on  foot.  A  scramble  on  rocks 
in  his  red  boots  would  by  no  means  meet  the  taste 
of  a  Beni  Sakk'r,  and  consequently  the  path  was  soon 
found,  and  he  sulkily  led  the  way. 

There  are  traces  of  the  old  and  well-engineered  road 
of  ancient  times.  Its  terrace  remains  along  the  mount- 
ain side,  broken  and  interrupted  by  land-slips  and 
avalanches  of  stones  wherever  it  rounds  a  headland 
or  crosses  a  gorge.  As  it  is,  it  is  a  rugged  and  peril- 
ous path.  Even  the  consummate  horseman  Zadam 
dismounted.  Up  and  down,  along  ledges,  across 
boulders,  up  steep  and  broken  stairs,  we  led  our  agile 
horses,  with  the  thermometer  92°  in  the  shade. 

Wherever  the  spurs  of  the  mountains  reach  the  sea 
palms  begin  to  clothe  the  moister  nooks,  and  finally 
almost  fringe  the  perpendicular  cliffs.  In  one  cleft 
the  waving  palms  covered  all  the  sides  of  the  slope, 
from  the  very  edge  of  the  shore,  where  one  tree  all 
but  laved   its   fronds    in   the   sea,  up   to   the   crest 


868  THE   LAND    OF    MOAB. 

of  the  overhanging  mountains,  as  far  as  we  could 
see. 

At  length,  after  four  hours  and  a  half  steady  travel- 
ing, we  are  brought  up  at  the  entrance  to  a  little  palm- 
tree  glen  by  a  face  of  crumbling  conglomerate.  We 
were  only  two  miles  in  a  straight  line  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Callirrhoe,  While  our  guides  and  men  began 
deliberately  to  work  a  sloping  niche  up  the  side  of  the 
cliff,  and  so  cut  a  road  for  our  horses,  we  clambered 
up  and  reconnoitred.  There  was  the  spit  at  the  Cal- 
lirrhoe's  mouth,  half  an  hour's  easy  walk  on  a  plain — 
an  open  plain  the  latter  part  of  the  way — but  a  hope- 
less mass  of  boulder  and  rock  for  the  first  half  mile. 
Daylight  would  not  suffice  to  bring  us  back  to  camp, 
and  Zadam  would  not  venture  to  sleep  out  in  this 
lawless  region,  where  many  a  robber  band  might  be 
watching  us,  now  unseen,  from  the  heights  above  us. 

We  reluctantly  yielded  to  force  majeiir^  and  sat 
down  to  our  dejetmer  sans  fourchette  under  the 
"shadow  of  a  great  rock  in  a  weary  land,"  having 
learned,  not  for  the  first  time,  the  difference  between 
theorizing  over  a  map  and  making  progress  on  an 
embayed  and  rocky  shore.  Our  meal  over,  we  turn- 
ed northward  again,  but  at  our  leisure:  photogra- 
pher, botanist,  naturalist,  each  had  abundance  to  at- 
tract him,  and  we  could  not  lose  our  way. 

Leaving;  mv  horse  to  follow  with  the  men,  I  started 
on  foot,  ahead  of  the  rest  of  the  party,  and  scrambled 
by  a  course  rather  higher  up  than  the  one  we  had  fol- 
lowed, or  made,  on  our  way  down.     It  was  well  that 


HEAT   OF   THE   SHORE,  369 

water  abounded  on  the  route,  for  the  sun  had  now 
got  to  the  south,  and  beat  with  fall  force  on  our 
backs.  The  wind  had  fallen;  not  so  tlie  temperature, 
95°  in  the  shade,  and,  I  am  sure,  150°  in  the  sun. 
The  rocks  refracted  the  heat.  My  gun-barrels  were 
so  hot  I  could  only  just  bear  to  touch  them.  The  Jq- 
dean  hills  had  now  all  the  shade,  which  threw  the 
hills  and  valleys  into  much  bolder  relief  than  when 
we  had  looked  at  them  under  the  full  mornino;  glare.' 

The  western  hills  showed  deep  purple  in  the  shade. 
The  nearer  coloring  was  gorgeous.  The  basalt  wall 
south  of  the  Callirrhoe  ravine  stood  out  in  fine  con- 
trast with  the  brilliant  and  even  dazzling  red  of  the 
sandstone  cliffs  above  and  around  me,  and  with  the 
white  glare  of  the  opposite  coast.  So  clear  was  the 
atmosphere,  that  I  saw  Tabor  distinctly,  and  all  the 
mountains  of  Samaria  northward,  and  the  low  ridge 
of  Usdum,  forty  miles  away  to  the  south,  and  even 
the  very  trees  at  Engedi,  twenty  miles  off,  with  the  na- 
ked eye.  Oh  that  we  had  had  such  a  clear  day  when 
on  Nebo !  The  sea  below  was  a  strange  leaden  blue. 
Such  a  mass  of  water  so  absolutely  stagnant  I  never 
saw  before.  In  the  morning  it  had  been  lashed  by 
the  gale  —  now  it  at  once  suggested,  as  its  appro- 
priate description,  "  a  sea  of  molten  lead ;"  while, 
wherever  the  spray  had  struck  the  rocks  a  few  hours 
before,  the  rapid  evaporation  had  left  a  glittering  crust 
of  salt. 

The  afternoon  was  far  advanced  before  my  friends 
overtook  me,  and  now  no  time  was  to  be  lost.     On 


370  THE    LAND   OF   MOAB. 

we  pushed,  with  many  a  canter  and  gallop,  through 
scrub  and  across  the  plain.  Birds  of  all  kinds,  rare 
and  common,  tantalized  us  as  we  rode,  for  we  had  no 
time  to  shoot.  The  summer  migrants  were  traveling 
northward  ;  flocks  of  the  great  spotted  cuckoo,  scores 
at  a  time,  rose  with  their  stealthy  flight,  waving  their 
long  tails  as  though  they  could  scarcely  wield  them ; 
all  our  English  songsters  were  mingled  with  bulbuls, 
sun-birds,  and  the  rare  denizens  of  Jericho.  Now 
and  then  a  desert  hare,  and  every  few  steps  a  quail, 
started  beneath  our  feet ;  while  partridges,  Greek  and 
Hey's,  called  defiantly  from  the  tops  of  the  boulders 
as  we  passed,  as  though  they  knew  themselves  safe. 

The  sun  had  retired  behind  the  hills  of  Jerusalem, 
and  we  had  barely  light  enough  to  descry  the  white 
tops  of  our  tents,  and  to  steer  our  way  toward  them, 
when,  after  eleven  hours  of  an  expedition  amidst  nat- 
ural scenery  the  most  varied  and.  interesting  we  had 
enjoyed  in  our  wanderings,  we  drew  rein — not,  how- 
ever, for  rest.  On  entering  the  tent,  we  found  it  turn- 
ed into  a  miscellaneous  museum.  Jemeel,  my  old  col- 
lector, who  had  visited  us  at  Medebn,  true  to  his  word, 
had  come  to  find  us,  and  had  spread,  on  carpets  and 
couches,  the  results  of  his  week's  hunting.  Birds, 
beasts,  eggs,  reptiles,  beetles,  and  shells  lay  strewn  in 
profusion.  Among  them  a  large  wild-cat,  a  coney, 
grakles,  hoopoes,  spotted  cuckoos,  hares,  hawks,  des- 
ert partridges  by  the  dozen,  a  long  Naja  serpent;  and 
all  hinted,  by  their  perfume,  that  they  must  be  either 
stowed  away  or  thrown  away  without  delay.    Jemeel 


THE   TENT   CARRIED   OFF.  871 

had,  however,  profited  by  his  lessons,  and  had  re- 
moved the  carcasses  of  the  larger  beasts.  Still  a  heavy 
night's  work  was  before  me,  if  any  thing  was  to  be 
safely  brought  home. 

Our  last  night  in  Moab  was  not  to  be  without  its 
ludicrous  adventure.  The  wind,  which  from  sundown 
had  been  blowing  in  sudden  gusts  of  sultry  sirocco,  at 
midnight  rose  to  a  gale  and  rocked  our  tents,  though 
sunk  in  an  apparently  snug  depression  by  the  side 
of  a  stream.  Pickets  had  been  driven  in,  stay-ropes 
thrown  across  them,  and  we  flattered  ourselves  we 
could  defy  the  storm,  which  drove  suffocating  clouds 
of  fine  hot  sand  that  penetrated  everywhere,  and  ir- 
ritated the  skin  beyond  endurance. 

Journals  were  finished,  and  all  had  lain  down  and 
left  me  alone,  hard  at  work  with  carbolic  acid  and 
arsenical  soap,  when,  after  a  violent  gust,  Buxton  ap- 
peared in  night  costume  to  seek  help.  The  other 
tent  was  gone.  Presaging  the  storm,  the  photogra- 
phers had,  for  once,  stowed  away  their  plates  and  bot- 
tles, which  usually  remained  on  the  table  till  morn- 
ing. They  had  not  long  retired  to  their  mats  when 
the  tent  was  lifted  off  them. 

We  turned  out  to  find  Johnson  lying  clothesless 
and  tentless,  scarcely  yet  awakened,  on  the  plain, 
which  was  strewn  with  the  debris  of  the  wreck. 
Straps,  clothes,  saddles,  wraps,  and  all  the  lighter  par- 
aphernalia of  camp  furniture,  were  scattered  in  all 
directions.  The  muleteers  were  roused,  but  not  the 
Arabs,  who,  stolid  as  ever,  slept  through  it  all.     At 

25 


372  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

leno-th  the  wreckage  was  collected  and  stored  in  our 
tent,  into  which  we  all  huddled  again,  but  not  for 
rest,  for  the  musquitoes  slept  not,  and  the  flies  would 
not  go  to  bed. 

With  the  thermometer  at  75°  at  day-break,  we  were 
glad  to  turn  out  after  our  sleepless  night,  refreshed 
only  by  a  bath  among  the  oleanders,  in  the  little 
stream.  Instead  of  riding  straight  across  to  the  lower 
fords,  which  would  have  led  us  to  Hajla  (Beth-hogla), 
and  so  by  Gilgal  to  Jericho,  with  our  laden  mules 
we  preferred  to  ride  a  few  miles  north  of  our  camp, 
to  the  ferry-boat,  which  now  takes  the  place  of  the 
pristine  fording  and  swimming.  The  plain  along 
which  we  rode  was  in  marked  contrast  with  the  west- 
ern Ghor.  There  was  very  little  marl,  and  we  never 
lost  a  scrubby  vegetation  till  the  lower  banks  of  the 
river  were  reached.  We  then  wound  our  way  for  a 
mile  or  two,  under  tamarisks  and  poplars,  by  a  charm- 
ing path,  till  we  arrived  at  the  ferr}^,  some  miles  south 
of  the  spot  where  I  had  crossed,  on  my  way  to  Gilead, 
eight  years  before. 

This  ferry  now  transports  the  rapidly-increasing  ex- 
ports from  Es  Salt  and  the  eastern  side  to  Jerusalem 
and  Nablous.  It  is  a  large  flat-bottomed  boat,  passed 
by  a  rope  from  shore  to  shore — not  more  than  sixty 
yards  across  at  this  spot.  Here  we  bid  farewell  to 
Moab  and  the  sultry  plains  of  Shittim.  Bathing  and 
filling  water-bottles  for  christenings  at  home  occupied 
the  time  till  the  mules  came  up. 

Landed  in  Palestine,  the  first  sign  of  a  return  to 


RETURN   TO   CIVILIZATION.  373 

civilization  caught  our  eyes  in  the  wattled  hut  of  the 
ferryman  and  a  number  of  chickens  running  about— 
a  creature  unknown  east  of  Jordan.  Invited  to  cof- 
fee by  the  gentlemanly-looking  Charon  whose  negro 
slaves  work  the  boat,  we  crept  under  a  door-way  four 
feet  high  and  sat  under  a  roof.  An  arsenal  of  a  dozen 
firelocks  intimated  that  the  thickets  of  the  Jordan  are 
still  the  haunts  of  outlaws  and  robbers  who  have  fled 
from  justice. 

From  the  fords  we  wound  for  some  distance,  by 
the  river-side,  through  a  maze  of  trees  with  gorgeous 
yellow  orobanches  springing  up  under  their  shade, 
and  the  thickets  re-echoing  with  the  notes  of  the 
bulbul  and  of  the  English  nightingale. 

From  the  thickets  we  ascend  to  the  most  desolate 
and  dreary  of  marl  terraces,  without  a  vestige  of  life, 
animal  or  vegetable,  till  we  reach  the  third  terrace,  or 
plateau  of  the  Jordan  Valley.  At  first  scrub  covers 
it,  which  gradually  gives  place  to  scattered  nubk-trees 
and  a  carpet  of  flowers.  Then  begin  corn-patches  and 
little  rills  tapped  from  the  springs. 

We  turn  a  corner,  and  soon  come  on  Elisha's  Fount- 
ain. Signs  that  we  are  re-entering  on  civilization 
now  crowd  on  our  reluctant  sight.  Small  boys  rush 
forward  from  the  corn-patches  and  the  gardens,  with 
open  palms,  shrieking  for  backsheesh.  Men  have 
mattocks  instead  of  guns  on  their  shoulders.  Worst 
of  all,  our  lovely  old  camping-ground  of  eight  years 
ago  is  no  more.  The  trees  have  been  all  stumped 
up,  or  pollarded,  and  the  whole  is  surrounded  by  an 


374  THE   LAND   OF    MOAB. 

impenetrable  line  of  horrid  thorn-branches,  and  turned 
into  a  cucumber-field. 

At  length,  after  following  the  course  of  the  stream 
for  a  little  way  down,  though  at  a  respectful  distance, 
we  find  an  opening,  and  a  small  space  untilled,  close 
to  the  water,  with  a  good  bathing-pool,  and  a  dense 
shade  from  trees  covered  with  Indian  Loranthus,  af- 
fording room  for  tents  and  pickets,  A  fellah  comes 
with  a  bill-hook,  and  offers  to  assist  in  clearing  ground 
for  the  camp.  He  informs  us  that  there  are  a  party 
of  Americans  camped  two  miles  lower  down,  and  that 
Cook's  tourists,  with  twenty-one  tents,  pitched  on  the 
open  ground  above  only  yesterday. 

We  have  not  seen  a  European  since  we  started 
from  Jerusalem ;  but  the  charm  of  savage  life  is  no 
more,  and  Moab  has  been  left  behind.  We  start  at 
once  for  my  old  haunts,  climb  the  side  of  Mount  Quar- 
antania,  up  to  the  Hermits'  Cave,  find  some  Abyssin- 
ian Christians  keeping  Lent  there,  and  return  for  a 
bathe  in  Elisha's  Fountain,  dinner,  and  our  last  night 
on  the  ground  under  canvas. 

The  next  morning  was  spent  in  bird-collecting  in 
the  thickets,  and  in  examining  the  sections  cut  in  the 
mounds  of  old  Jericho  by  the  Palestine  Exploration 
Fund,  which  still  yielded  some  fragments  of  pottery. 
It  was  near  noon  when  we  started  for  Jerusalem. 
The  rugged  path,  so  familiar  in  past  years,  has  given 
place  to  a  well-made  road,  walled  in  the  most  precip- 
itous parts,  with  series  of  easy  steps  in  the  steepest 
places.     After  a  halt  at  the  ruined  khan,  the  tradi- 


BETHANY  IN  SPRING.  375 

tional  inn  of  the  parable  of  the  Good  Samaritan,  and 
the  traditional  luncheon-place  of  all  modern  travelers, 
the  increase  of  cultivation  in  the  open  spaces  in  all 
the  shallow  valleys  since  my  last  visit  was  most 
marked. 

Bethany  is  reached,  now  looking  beautiful,  buried 
in  fruit-trees — the  olive,  and  especially  the  almond, 
now  in  full  blossom.  One  fig-tree,  putting  forth  its 
leaves,  could  even  prematurely  intimate  that  summer 
was  nigh.  How  changed  the  scenery  since  we  last 
walked  out  to  Bethany,  about  two  months  ago !  Here 
are  the  first  houses  we  have  seen  since  we  left  Kerak. 
The  climate,  too,  has  changed  since  we  left  the  Jordan 
in  the  morning,  the  wind  blowing  strong  and  cold, 
and  the  sun  hidden  behind  a  mist. 

Gladly  we  took  shelter  under  a  rock  until  the 
mules  came  up,  and  the  cavalcade  formed  in  proces- 
sion to  enter  the  city  in  state.  The  leading  mules 
were  decked  out  with  their  trappings  and  their  bells, 
the  foremost  carrying  the  English  ensign.  This  hon- 
orable post  was  not  decided  before  a  fight  between 
the  rival  muleteers  as  to  which  had  proved  itself  the 
best  mule.  We  had,  at  length,  to  interfere  with  threats 
of  force ;  and  great  was  the  indignation  of  the  devout 
Moslems  that  the  place  of  honor  was  won  by  a  Chris- 
tian mule  from  Lebanon.  The  howadji,  with  Daoud 
and  a  pet  lamb,  Zadam's  last  gift  to  him,  brought  up 
the  rear.  Zadam  looked  in  an  ecstasy  of  quiet  tri- 
umph as  he  rode  over  the  slippery  pavements  of 
Jerusalem,  having  fulfilled  his  promise  that  he  would 


376  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

never  leave  us  till  he  had  ridden  by  our  side  up 
Christian  Street. 

We  had  scarcely  passed  through  St.  Stephen's 
Grate,  when  we  were  recognized  by  the  soldiers  who 
had  been  sent  to  our  rescue,  and  whom  we  had  met 
at  the  Na'ur.  Their  congratulations,  and  those  of 
many  strangers,  as  our  horses  slid  over  the  pave- 
ment, till  we  reached  the  Mediterranean  Hotel,  re- 
vealed the  interest  that  had  been  excited  by  our  de- 
tention at  Kerak.  As  we  sat  at  dinner  that  evening, 
in  Hornstein's  comfortable  hostel,  with  Zadam  for  our 
guest,  his  best  Arab  costume  setting  off  his  handsome 
face  and  figure,  while  he  complacently  quaffed  his 
Champagne,  which  of  us  felt  not  some  tinge  of  re- 
gret that  our  wanderings  in  the  land  of  Moab  were 
ended  ? 


One  morning,  a  few  days  afterward,  we  parted 
outside  the  Joppa  Gate ;  Buxton,  Johnson,  and  the 
writer,  to  return  home — Hayne  and  Trotter  to  con- 
tinue their  tour  through  Syria.  Once  more  the 
whole  party  met  under  Lady  Buxton's  hospitable 
roof  at  Cromer,  last  autumn.  Little  did  any  of  them 
think  it  was  for  the  last  time. 

While  these  last  sheets  have  been  passing  through 
the  press  the  sad  intelligence  has  been  brought  that 
William  Amherst  Hayne  has  been  cut  off  by  fever 
at  Catania,  in  Sicily.  How  much  he  contributed  to 
the  success  of  the  expedition  these  pages  but  scantily 


OUR   WANDERINGS   ENDED.  377 

testify.  But  he  will  not  soon  be  forgotten,  either  by 
those  who  learned  to  love  him  then,  or  by  that  far 
larger  circle  at  home,  who  knew  him  as  the  accom- 
plished scholar,  the  keen  naturalist,  but,  most  of  all, 
as  the  centre  of  Christian  influence  among  his  com- 
peers in  the  University  of  Cambridge.  With  such 
promise,  with  such  powers,  he  seemed  to  be  one 
whom  the  Church  of  Christ,  to  the  ministry  of  which, 
in  heart,  his  future  life  was  already  consecrated,  could 
ill  spare.  But  One  wiser  than  man  has  told  us, 
"When  the  fruit  is  brought  forth,  immediately  He 
putteth  in  the  sickle." 


378  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


CHAPTER 

ON 

THE  PERSIAN  PALACE  OE  MASHITA. 

By  JAMES  FERGUSSON,  F.R.S. 

Dr.  Tristram  has  explained  so  fully,  in  tbe  body 
of  the  work,  the  ground  on  which  I  ventured  to 
ascribe  the  building  of  the  palace  at  Mashita  to  Chos- 
roes,  the  Khosru  Purviz  of  the  Persians,  that  I  have 
very  little  to  add,  on  that  branch  of  the  subject,  to 
what  he  has  already  said  so  well.  The  truth  is,  the 
whole  argument  lies  in  a  very  narrow  compass.  There 
are  in  this  palace  architectural  features  which,  so  far 
as  is  now  known,  were  first  invented  in  the  age  of 
Justinian.  The  full-bodied  convex  capitals  of  the  in- 
ner palace,  as  contradistinguished  from  the  hollow, 
concave,  bell-shaped  capitals  of  the  Roman-Corinthian 
order,  are  just  such  inventions  as  mark  an  epoch  in 
the  art  which  admits  of  no  question,  though  side  by 
side  with  them  are  reminiscences — in  the  language  of 
the  day,  "  survivals  " — of  the  older  and  more  classical 
forms.  On  the  other  hand,  there  seems  to  be  an  equal- 
ly certain  limit  beyond  which  it  can  not  be  brought 
down.  In  632  the  Arabs  invaded  Syria;  and  they 
came  as  conquerors  to  destroy;  and  it  was  not  till 


iililiililiill:i«|ltfffilll!|1!liillliit!!llll!lll|!'ll1VI'^^^^^ 


PERSIAN    PALACE   OF   MASHITA.  379 

long  afterward  that  they  attempted  to  restore  or  build. 
Their  earliest  woiks,  so  far  as  is  now  known,  date  from 
the  time  of  Abd-ul-Malek,  a.d.  684-705.  He  built 
the  Mosque  Al- Aksah  at  Jerusalem,  and  converted  the 
Church  of  St.  John  at  Damascus  into  the  principal 
mosque  of  that  city.  Both  these  works  are  so  essen- 
tially rude  and  clumsy  as  to  prove  that  even  at  that 
age  the  Arab  conquerors  were  still  too  inartistic  to 
attempt  any  thing  so  beautiful  as  the  palace  at  Ma- 
shita  or  the  Dome  of  the  Kock  at  Jerusalem.  Our 
researches  for  a  date  are  thus  limited  to  the  century 
that  elapsed  between  the  times  of  Justinian  and  Omar; 
and  within  this  period  there  seems  no  one  to  whom  it 
would  be  possible  to  ascribe  the  building  of  such  a 
palace  as  this  except  to  this  great  hero  of  the  Sassa- 
nian  race. 

The  one  objection  which  it  appears  might  be  plau- 
sibly urged  against  this  view  is,  that  nothing  exactly 
like  it  is  found  among  the  buildings  of  the  Sassanians 
in  their  own  country.  This,  however,  is  not  quite 
correct.  The  long  vaulted  halls  of  the  inner  palace 
are  found  in  all  their  erections  from  Al  Hadhr  to  the 
Tak  Kesra  at  Ctesiphon.*  And  the  great  sculptured 
rock-cut  arch  at  Takt-i-Bostan,t  which  is  the  most  au- 
thentic specimen  of  the  architecture  of  Chosroes  known 
to  us,  is  as  classical  as  this,  though  differing  in  detail, 
as  might  be  expected  from  its  object  and  its  locality. 

*  "  History  of  Architecture,"  ii.,  p.  423,  et  seqq. 
t  Ker  Porter's  "  Travels  in  Persia,"  vol.  ii.,  plates  61  to  04.     Flan- 
din  and  Coste,  "Voyage  en  Perse,"  vol.  i.,  plates  1  to  12. 


380  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

If  any  thing  remained  of  his  celebrated  palace  at  Das- 
tagerd,  we  might  be  able  to  speak  with  absolute  cer- 
tainty in  this  matter ;  but  even  its  site  is  a  matter  of 
dispute ;  and  though  it  is  probable  that  the  spot  may 
be  identified  with  the  ruins  at  Eski  Baghdad — visited 
and  described  by  Rich* — they  are  mere  unornament- 
ed  brick  walls,  without  any  architectural  or  sculptured 
ornament  which  would  afford  any  means  of  compari- 
son. The  fact  is,  that  all  the  palaces  built  on  the 
banks  of  the  Euphrates  or  Tigris  were  in  brick,  and 
depended  for  their  ornament  on  carvings  in  wood  or 
metal,  or,  in  ancient  times,  on  sculptured  slabs  of  ala- 
baster. In  Sassanian  times  these  were  replaced  by 
plaster;  but  all  these  having  perished,  there  is  noth- 
ing left  but  the  skeletons  of  the  buildings  to  enable 
us  to  judge  of  the  living  likeness  of  the  two  styles. 

Even,  however,  if  the  means  of  comparison  were 
more  abundant,  we  must  bear  in  mind  the  exceptional 
circumstances  under  which  this  palace  was  erected. 
The  best  years  of  his  youth  were  spent  by  Chosroes 
at  Hierapolis,  as  the  guest  of  the  Emperor  Maurice, 
where  he  ho  doubt  admired  and  imbued  his  mind 
with  the  glories  of  the  classical  buildings  of  that  and 
other  cities  of  Asia  Minor.  At  the  time  it  is  sup- 
posed he  was  erecting  this  palace,  all  Asia  Minor,  as 
well  as  all  Syria,  obeyed  his  commands,  and  the  best 
artists  of  Antioch  and  Damascus,  as  well  as  those  of 
the  great  cities  of  Asia  Minor,  were  available  for  his 
purposes. 

*  Rich,  "Eesidence  in  Koordistan,"  ii.,  251,  et  seq. 


THE   PERSIAN   PALACE   OF   MASHITA.  381 

So  far,  too,  as  either  history  or  tradition  throws 
any  light  on  these  matters,  Chosroes  was  the  most 
artistic  and  art-loving  of  all  the  kings  of  his  dynasty. 
As  Sir  John  Malcolm  says,  "A  thousand  volumes 
have  been  filled  by  his  countrymen  with  the  story  of 
this  king  and  his  love  for  the  fair  Shireen,  and  their 
love  for  Ferhad  the  sculptor,  or  architect."*  In  so 
far  as  Persian  history  is  concerned,  the  latter  was  by 
no  means  the  least  important  person  of  the  three.  He 
was  the  friend  and  adviser  of  his  sovereign,  and  assist- 
ed him  in  carrying  out  all  the  great  works  that  ren- 
dered his  reign  illustrious.  It  was  to  his  art  that  the 
palace  at  Dastagerd,  so  eloquently  described  by  Gib- 
bon,f  owed  its  splendor;  and  we  may,  perhaps,  as- 
sume that  it  was  by  his  advice,  and  partially  under 
his  inspiration,  that  Mashita  attained  the  prominence 
which  undoubtedly  belongs  to  it.:}: 


*  "Histoiy  of  Persia,"  i.,  p.  158. 

t  "Decline  and  Fall,"  vol.  v.,  chap,  xlvi.,  p.  527. 

t  Among  the  MS.  drawings  bequeathed  by  the  late  C.  Texier  to  the 
Institute  of  British  Architects  there  is  one  of  a  bass-relief  at  Schiraz, 
representing  the  story  of  Chosroes  and  the  fair  Shireen  from  the  time 
he  first  saw  her  bathing,  as  David  saw  Bathsheba,  the  concluding  scene 
of  which  is  curious.  It  represents  the  king  slaying  a  lion,  as  kings  of 
Persia  were  wont  to  do  from  very  remote  times ;  and  beyond  him  Shi- 
reen sits  quietly  on  horseback,  watching  Ferhad  sculpturing  birds  and 
foliage  on  a  rock,  or  great  stone :  in  fact,  just  such  a  subject  as  we 
find  on  the  facade  of  this  palace.  It  might  be  going  too  far  to  assert 
that  this  palace  was  actually  executed  by  or  under  the  direct  super- 
intendence of  Ferhad,  but  it  certainly  looks  as  if  he  inspired  the  de- 
sign. 


382  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

EESTORATION". 

It  is  not  proposed,  on  the  present  occasion  at  least, 
to  attempt  any  restoration  of  the  central  palace,  eeee, 
itself  (wood -cut  No.  24).  Its  exterior  probably  al- 
ways presented  the  same  diapered  brick- wall  that  is 
now  seen,  and  its  only  ornamental  part  was  the  great 
triple  portal,  B  B,  that  led  into  the  hypsethral  court. 
That  once  was  complete,  and  the  whole  of  the  vous- 
soirs  of  the  central  arch  at  least,  which  was  twenty- 
two  feet  in  width,  lie  in  front,  exactly  as  they  fell,  and 
as  they  appear  in  wood-cut  No.  21.  The  voussoirs, 
also,  of  the  side  arches,  which  were  apparently  eleven 
feet  wide,  are,  probably,  also  on  the  ground,  though 
not  shown  in  the  photographs.  So  that  the  whole  of 
this  fa9ade  can  easily  be  restored  from  the  actual  re- 
mains, whenever  any  architect  has  the  opportunity  of 
examining  them  with  care. 

The  case  is  widely  different  with  the  elaborately 
ornamented  fagade,  A  A,  that  forms  the  entrance  to 
the  whole,  on  the  south  side.  It  certainly  never  was 
finished  ;  indeed,  there  is  reason  for  believing  that  not 
one  single  stone  has  fallen  from  its  place;  what  we 
see  now  is  exactly  what  the  last  builder  saw  when 
he  fled  on  hearing  of  the  disaster  that  deprived  his 
master  of  the  dominion  of  the  fairest  half  of  the  then 
known  world.  The  highest  block  at  the  left-hand 
corner  had  been  raised,  but  not  placed  in  position, 
and  the  carvings  were  left  unfinished  here  and  there, 
and  in  some  places  merely  outlined,  when  the  great 


THE   PERSIAN   TEMPLE   OF   MASHITA.  383 

catastrophe  arrested  the  hand  of  the  sculptor.  We 
are  thus  left  entirely  to  our  knowledge  of  the  style 
derived  from  other  buildings  to  enable  us  to  say  what 
was  originally  intended  by  the  architect  who  de- 
signed it. 

This  fagade,  which  is  represented  in  a  restored  form 
on  the  frontispiece  of  this  work,*  extends  to  180  feet 
east  and  west,  between  two  of  the  plain  semicircular 
towers  of  the  inclosure.  Ample  means  exist  for  its 
restoration  to  the  height  of  twenty  or  twenty-two  feet 
from  what  was  the  original  ground-line.  Above  that 
we  are  dependent  on  our  knowledge  of  other  build- 
ings of  the  same  age  and  style.  These,  it  must  be 
confessed,  are  neither  so  numerous  nor  so  similar  as 
might  be  desired  ;  but  they  are  sufficient  for  our  pres- 
ent purposes,  and  admit  of  the  whole  being  restored 
with  a  very  fair  amount  of  certainty. 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  any  one,  on  looking  at 
the  plan,  is  the  unusual  projection  of  the  two  octag- 


*  It  is  hardly  necessary  to  explain  that  it  is  quite  impossible  to 
make  clear  to  those  who  are  not  already  familiar  with  the  styles  that 
preceded  as  well  as  with  those  which  followed  this  building,  all  the 
motives  that  guided  me  in  making  this  restoration  without  at  least 
an  amount  of  illustrations  which  is  quite  incompatible  with  an  appen- 
dix to  a  book  of  travels.  The  building,  however,  is  in  itself  so  beau- 
tiful, and  its  position  in  the  history  of  architecture  so  interesting,  that 
it  well  deserves  a  monograph  ;  and  when  more  detailed  measurements 
are  obtained,  as  well  as  more  extensive  illustrations  of  its  sculpture,  it 
may  be  well  worth  while  to  attempt  this.  At  present  the  reader  must 
be  content  to  take  a  good  deal  on  trust,  unless  he  will  take  the  trouble 
of  mastering  the  original  authorities  quoted  hereafter. 

26 


384  THE    LAND    OF    MOAB. 

onal  towers  that  flank  the  entrance.  All  the  other 
towers  are  only  semicircles ;  but  these  project  more 
than  half  their  diameter,  and  they  are  also  quite  solid 
up  to  the  height  to  which  they  are  built,  which  would 
probably  not  have  been  the  case  with  towers  so  pure- 
ly ornamental  without  some  sufficient  motive.  It 
hardly,  however,  required  even  these  two  facts  to  sug- 
gest that  they  must  have  been  joined  by  a  great  arch. 
So  far  as  is  known,  no  Sassanian  building  is  without 
this  feature.  It  is  as  indispensable  as  a  portico  to  a 
Greek  temple,  or  a  tower  or  steeple  to  a  mediaeval 
Gothic  church.  All  the  Sassanian  buildings  we  know 
of  have  this  feature,  and  it  is  almost  equally  charac- 
teristic of  the  Christian  buildings  in  Syria  in  the  fifth 
and  sixth  centuries.*  One  of  the  most  remarkable — 
it  may  be  said,  exaggerated — examples  of  this  great 
arch  is  found  in  the  Tak  Kesra,  at  Ctesiphon,  built 
by  Noushirvan,  the  grandfather  of  Chosroes,  to  which 
we  shall  frequently  have  occasion  to  refer  in  the 
sequel. 

In  most  of  the  Syrian  churches  a  short  pier  or  pi- 
laster is  detached  from  the  flanking  towers  to  carry 
the  great  arch  ;  and  that  is  an  expedient  which  would 
certainly  be  adopted  in  modern  times ;  but  nothing 
of  the  sort  exists,  or  ever  could  have  existed,  here : 
the  consequence  is,  that  the  arch  must  have  died  away 
against  the  towers,  had  it  not  been  stilted,  or  contin- 
ued, in  some  manner.     One  peculiarity,  however,  of 

*  See  plates  of  De  Vogue'"s  work,  "  Syria  Centrale,"  j)assitii. 


KO.  '■}'.}.      ELEVATION   OF   ONE    COMI'AKTMENT   OK   WESTEKN   OCTAGON    TOWEU    AT   MASUITA. 


THE   PERSIAN    PALACE   OF   MASHITA. 


385 


all  Sassanian  arches  is  that  they  are  all  more  than 
semicircles.  In  the  Tak  Kesra,  as  will  be  observed, 
the  great  arch  is  a  semi-ellipse,  which  is  certainly  not 
a  pleasing  form ;  but  it,  or  something  very  like  it, 
occurs  in  the  palaces  at  Firouzabad  and  Serbistan.''^ 
Luckily,  however,  there  is  a  very  beautiful  Sassanian 
arch,  with  singularly  classical  details,  at  Takt-i-Gero,f 


KO.  40. 


TAK   KESRA   (FROM  FLANDIN   AND   COSTE). 


which  is  stilted  by  being  horseshoed — if  the  expres- 
sion may  be  used— to  the  extent  of  one-tenth  of  its 
diameter.:}:     As  it  resembles  in  style  this  palace  more 


*  For  illustrations  of  these  palaces,  see  my  "History  of  Architect- 
ure," vol.  ii.,  wood-cuts  946  to  950.  They  are  taken  from  Flandin 
and  Coste's  "Voyage  en  Perse,"  which  is  the  great  and  best  authori- 
ty on  Sassanian  art. 

t  Flandin  and  Coste,  vol.  iv.,  plates  214,  215. 

t  The  arch  over  the  great  niche  in  the  Pantheon  at  Rome  is  stilt- 


386  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

than  any  other,  I  have  not  hesitated  to  adopt  that 
form,  which  seems  to  meet  the  case  exactly.  But  I 
adopt  it  with  more  confidence,  as,  on  showing  my  res- 
toration to  Mr.  Hayne,  he  produced  from  his  pocket- 
book  two  drawings  of  an  arch  in  the  inner  palace  at 
Mashita,  on  which,  besides  representing  it,  he  noted, 
on  the  spot,  "Arches  distinctly  horseshoe." 

There  can  be  no  great  difficulty  in  restoring  the 
features  inside  the  great  arch.  The  jambs  of  the 
door-way  exist,  and  they  absolutely  demand  a  hori- 
zontal lintel,  and  a  lintel  of  that  extent  requires  a 
discharging  arch.  This  feature,  it  may  be  added,  is 
nearly  universal  in  the  Syrian  churches  of  the  pre- 
ceding centuries:  all  their  door-ways  within  or  be- 
hind the  great  arches  are  square-headed,  but,  opening 
into  interiors,  their  discharging  arches  become  win- 
dows, or  fan-lights.  As  this  one,  however,  opens  into 
a  court-yard,  such  a  disposition  is  most  improbable  ; 
and  I  have  therefore  placed  in  it  an  equestrian  statue 
of  Chosroes,  on  his  favorite  black  charger,  Shub  diz, 
copied  from  that  which  adorns  his  rock-cut  arch  at 
Takt-i-Bostan.* 

Passing  by  the  principal  story  for  the  present,  the 
first  suggestion  that  presented  itself  to  my  mind  for 
the  third  was  that  it  should  be  a  repetition  of  the 

ed,  or  horseshoed,  to  one-tenth  of  its  diameter,  in  the  same  manner. 
See  "Hist,  of  Architecture,"  wood-cut  183;  Taylor  and  Creasey's 
"Rome,"  plate  Iv. 

*  "  Flandin  and  Coste,"  vol.  i.,  plates  1  to  12.  Ker  Porter's  "  Trav- 
els in  Persia,"  ii.,  plates  61  to  64. 


THE   PERSIAN   PALACE    OF   MASHITA.  387 

lowest,  on  half  its  scale.  The  arrangement  of  the 
stories  in  the  Tak  Kesra  (wood-cut  No.  40),  and  oth- 
er buildings  of  that  age,  seemed  to  justify  this;  but 
when  it  was  so  drawn,  the  probability  of  this  disposi- 
tion rose  to  conviction  in  my  mind  from  a  circum- 
stance I  must  try  and  explain. 

In  the  island  of  Murano,  near  Venice,  there  is  a 
church,  built  apparently  in  the  tenth  century,  but  the 
apse  of  which,  externally,  is  unlike  any  thing  else 
I  know  in  Latin  Europe.  It  is  surrounded  by  two 
rows  of  triangular  recesses  in  the  brick- work,  in  some 
of  which  are  slabs  of  marble  beautifully  carved,  and 
with  devices  very  easily  distinguishable  from  the 
clumsy  carvings  of  Venetian  builders  of  that  age. 
There  are  also  slabs  with  trees,  and  foliage,  and  birds, 
very  like  those  at  Mashita,  and  a  string-course  of  that 
sharp  broccoli-like  acanthus  which  distinguishes  the 
age  of  Justinian.  The  most  interesting  fact,  however, 
is,  that  there  is  one  window  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
spectator,  round  the  top  of  which  these  triangles  are 
carried  in  the  most  exquisitely  artistic  fashion.  All 
these  parts,  with  some  of  the  capitals,  had  evidently 
been  brought  by  the  Venetians  from  some  ruined 
Levantine  building,  as  most  of  the  pillars  of  St. 
Mark's  were  brought  from  Alexandria ;  but  they  had 
not  brought  away  enough  to  complete  the  design  ;  so 
that  their  own  clumsy  attempts  at  imitation  betray 
the  forgery  to  the  most  unpracticed  eye.  All  this  I 
knew  long  ago,  from  personal  observation  as  well  as 
from  photographs  and  Buskin's  exquisite  drawings 


388  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

of  this  apse;*  but,  till  I  saw  the  photographs  of 
Mashita,  I  never  could  even  guess  whence  the  foreign 
fragments  were  obtained.  I  have  now  no  doubt  that 
it  was  from  some  Syrian  church  near  the  coast- — 
probably  Antioch,  or  thereabouts — which,  being  ruin- 
ed by  the  Moslem,  or  an  earthquake,  was  despoiled 
of  its  ornaments  to  adorn  this  church. 

The  moment  I  tried  to  adapt  this  Murano  arch  to 
that  at  Mashita,  I  found  that,  with  a  little  contrivance, 
it  fitted  so  exactly  that  I  now  feel  quite  convinced 
that  this  is  something  very  like  the  mode  in  which  it 
was  intended  to  be  finished.  This,  too,  becomes  more 
certain  when  we  refer  back  to  the  Tak  Kesra  (wood- 
cut No.  40),  the  last  great  Sassanian  building  which 
preceded  this  palace. 

If  carefully  examined,  it  becomes  evident  that,  had 
its  architect  been  clever  enough,  and  been  building 
in  stone,  he  would  have  carried  his  third  story  round 
his  great  arch,  just  as  has  been  done  here.  Eadia- 
ting  shafts,  however,  in  brick-work  were  a  difficulty 
he  could  not  face ;  so  we  have  only  the  heads  of  the 
arches  spaced  equidistantly  with  those  on  the  flanks, 
and  starting  from  the  same  level,  but  only  carried 
round  as   a   kind  of  foliation, f  and  losing  all  the 

*  "  Stones  of  Venice,"  vol.  ii.,  plates  3,  4,  and  5. 

t  The  wood-cut  No.  40  is  on  too  small  a  scale,  and  not  sufficiently 
con-ectly  drawn  to  make  this  quite  clear,  but  an  examination  of  Flan- 
din  and  Coste's  plate  218,  vol.  iv.,  explains  the  architect's  intention 
beyond  doubt.  He  evidently  was  trying,  on  a  scale  beyond  his  means, 
a  mode  of  decoration  which  had  succeeded  somewhere  else  with  more 
limited  dimensions. 


THE    PERSIAN    PALACE   OF   MASHITA.  389 

Strength  and  depth  which  the  deeper  archivolt  would 
have  given.  The  triangular  arrangement  adopted  at 
Murano,  and  suggested  here,  seems  to  get  perfectly 
over  this  difficulty,  while  the  want  of  some  such  ex- 
pedient has  ruined  the  effect  of  the  arch  at  Ctesiphon. 

Returning  now  to  the  principal  story,  two  sugges- 
tions presented  themselves.  The  first  was  that  I 
have  adopted,  principally  depending  for  my  authority 
on  the  Tak  Kesra,  which  seems  to  justify  it,  but  also 
because,  on  the  left-hand  side,  the  building  is  divided 
in  plan  into  small  apartments,  which  seem  to  demand 
light,  at  least  in  the  upper  story. 

The  other  suggestion  was  that  of  a  great  bass-relief. 
These  great  sculptured  pictures  being  the  favorite 
style  of  utterance  of  the  Sassanians  from  first  to  last, 
some  forty  or  fifty  of  them  still  remain.  A  stronger 
motive,  however,  than  even  this  analogy  was,  that  in 
the  arch  at  Takt-i-Bostan,  the  only  really  authentic 
work  of  Chosroes,  there  are  two  great  bassi-relievi, 
probably  the  masterpieces  of  Ferhad.  One  of  these 
represents  a  great  battue  hunt  after  deer,  the  other 
after  hogs,  and  either  would  be  singularly  appropriate 
to  this  hunting-box.  Originally,  the  right-hand  side 
of  the  restoration  was  so  drawn  ;  but  the  whole,  when 
covered  only  with  incised  ornament  in  low  relief, 
looked  so  flat  that  the  idea  was  abandoned,  though, 
were  I  drawing  the  fn9ade  again,  I  would  feel  inclined 
to  restore  it.  It  may  not  be  what  we  would  consid- 
er architecturally  the  best,  but  I  fancy  it  is  what  the 
founder  of  the  palace  intended. 


390  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

Having  got  so  far,  the  remaining  parts  of  the  eleva- 
tion presented  no  great  difficulties.  The  upper  part 
of  the  left-hand  side  is  taken  from  the  battlements  of 
Lachish,  as  represented  in  the  Nineveh  Marbles  in  the 
British  Museum,  or  in  Layard's  plates,*  and  from 
painted  details  at  Khorsabad.  Not  that  I  suppose 
these  were  standing  in  the  seventh  century ;  but  such 
forms  get  petrified,  and,  with  slight  modifications,  re- 
appear again  and  again,  after  long  periods  of  time. 
On  the  right  hand  I  have  adopted  a  series  of  arches, 
such  as  are  found  in  every  Turkish  fountain,  and  in 
most  of  their  ornamental  buildings,  just  below  the 
cornice.  On  the  whole,  I  am  inclined  to  think  it  the 
one  most  likely  to  have  been  intended,  if  we  adopt 
the  arches  for  the  middle  story.  This  thus  becomes 
a  repetition,  half  scale,  of  the  "piano  nobile,"  in  the 
same  manner  as  the  third  story  was  a  repetition  of  the 
triangular  arrangement  of  the  lowest.  If,  however, 
we  adopt  the  theory  that  the  middle  story  was  adorn- 
ed by  a  bass-relief,  then  the  left-hand  design  would  be 
most  appropriate. 

Over  the  great  arch,  on  the  right-hand  side,  a  flying 
figure  is  introduced,  which  is  copied  literally  from  the 
Takt-i-Bostan,  and  may  therefore  have  been  intended 
here,  and  in  the  bass-relief  theory  would  almost  cer- 
tainly have  been  adopted.  In  the  design  as  drawn 
she  seems  somewhat  out  of  place.  The  ornaments 
under  the  great  arch,  it  may  be  added,  are  all  copied 


*  Second  series  of  "Monuments  of  Nineveh,"  plate  21,  et  serj. 


THE   PERSIAN   PALACE   OF   MASHITA.  391 

from  Takt-i-Bostan,  and  so  are  the  battlements  that 
crown  the  wing-walls,  though  these  stepped  battle- 
ments are  common  enough  elsewhere,  both  in  Persia 
and  India. 

It  only  remains  now  to  saj  a  few  words  with  re- 
gard to  the  two  pavilions,  with  the  gallery  between 
them,  which  rise  above  the  line  of  the  principal  cor- 
nice. If  we  look,  in  the  first  instance,  at  the  projec- 
tion and  strength  of  the  towers,  no  one,  I  fancy,  would 
suggest  that  they  ought  to  stop  with  the  line  of  the 
cornice.  But  this  necessity  for  artistic  harmony  rises 
to  nearly  a  certainty  when  we  come  to  examine  their 
base  moldings.  These  are  Corinthian  —  corrupt,  of 
course,  but  of  certain  well-defined  proportions.  They 
are,  as  nearly  as  can  be  ascertained,  four  feet  six  inch- 
es high ;  and  that  is  the  proportion  which  a  classical 
architect  would  assign  to  a  pillar  or  wall  ninety  feet 
in  height;  and  ninety  feet,  it  may  also  be  observed, 
is  exactly  half  the  length  of  the  ornamental  fa9ade, 
which  is  a  very  likely  proportion  in  so  carefully  de- 
signed a  building. 

But,  besides  these  architectural  exigencies,  the  real- 
ly great  argument  is,  that  it  is  following  out  what  we 
find  took  place  before  the  time  when  they  were  erect- 
ed. In  the  great  church,  for  instance,  at  Tourmanin, 
erected  in  the  sixth  century,  we  have  exactly  this  dis- 
position. First,  the  great  arch,  with  the  square-head- 
ed door  and  fan-light  inside  it;  then  the  gallery  be- 
tween two  towers  carried  up  above  the  arch.  In  the 
church  all  is  designed  with  Doric  simplicity  and  plain- 


392 


THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 


ness;  in  the  palace,  with  Corinthian  exuberance  and 
richness;  but  the  disposition  of  both  fagades  is  the 
same,  and  the  tendency  in  all  the  fa§ades  of  these 
Syrian  churches  and  buildings  is  to  something  very 
like  this.     Of  course,  the  body  of  the  church  itself,  as 


NO.  41.  CHURCH    AT    TOURMANIN    (FKOM    J)E  VOGLE). 

shown  in  wood-cut  No.  41,  must  be  disregarded — we 
are  speaking  here  of  the  portico,  or  fagade,  and  of  that 
only. 

The  little  domes  that  crown  the  pavilions  are  bor- 
rowed from  the  palace  at  Serbistan.     I  would  have 


THE   PERSIAN   PALACE   OF   MASHITA.  393 

liked  to  add  some  ornament  on  the  summit,  but  have 
no  authority  for  it. 

It  is  almost  as  much,  however,  from  what  followed 
after  as  from  what  went  before,  that  we  derive  a  con- 
viction that  this  restoration  is  not  far  from  the  truth, 
for  all  the  Persian  and  Indian  mosques  unmistaka- 
bly took  their  forms  from  some  such  building  as  this. 
The  Egyptian  and  African  mosques,  as  well  as  many 
of  those  in  Syria,  took  their  forms  from  the  Atria,  and 
other  arrangements  of  Christian  churches;  but  in  the 
East,  where  Christian  architecture  hardly  existed  in 
these  early  ages,  the  path  was  different.  It  is,  never- 
theless, easy  to  trace  back  their  design  to  some  such 
building  as  that  at  Mashita,  which  is,  unfortunately, 
however,  the  only  example  of  its  class  now  remaining 
— so  far,  at  least,  as  we  at  present  know. 

Almost  all  Persian  mosques,  and  those  especially 
in  Western  India — in  Gujerat  and  at  Ahmedabad,  for 
instance^have  a  great  central  arched  door-way,  at 
times  merging  into  a  semi-dome,  covering  a  square- 
headed  door-way,  but  always  flanked  by  two  octagonal 
towers,  which  in  (Jourse  of  time  have  grown  into  tall 
minarets.  Between  these  towers  the  central  part  of  the 
fagade  is  always  higher  than  the  wings,  and  is  frequent- 
ly crowned  by  a  gallery,  or  range,  of  detached  pavil- 
ions. The  wing-walls,  instead  of  being  solid,  as  here, 
are  generally  pierced  by  one  or  more  openings,  but  so 
managed  as  not  to  break  the  continuity  of  the  lines 
or  the  solid  look  of  the  flanking  masses  of  masonry. 


394  THE   LAND   OF   MOAB. 

So  essentially  is  this  the  case,  that,  taking  the  Jum- 
ma  Musjid*  at  Delhi  as  a  starting-point,  it  is  not  dif- 
ficult to  trace  the  form  back  to  the  earliest  mosques 
we  have  in  India.  As  they  only  extend  backward, 
however,  to  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century, 
there  is  a  wide  gap  to  be  got  over  before  we  reach 
the  age  of  the  palace  at  Mashita,  This  can  only  be 
bridged  over  by  buildings  in  Persia  and  the  countries 
between  that  and  India.  That  such  buildings  exist, 
hardly  admits  of  a  doubt ;  but  the  photographer  has 
not  yet  reached  these  regions,  and  no  traveler  has  had 
his  attention  specially  directed  to  the  early  buildings 
of  the  Mohammedan  dynasties,  which  alone  can  supply 
the  missing  link.  But  from  such  drawings  as  exist, 
and  such  accounts  as  have  been  published,  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that  the  information  to  complete  the 
series  will  be  forthcoming  when  looked  for.  When 
they  are  found,  they  will  enable  us  to  explain  a  great 
deal  that  has  hitherto  been  a  mystery  with  regard  to 
the  origin  of  many  of  the  forms  of  Indian  architecture. 
It  is  not,  however,  from  its  form  only  that  this  palace 
at  Mashita  enables  us  to  trace  the  connection  between 
the  architectures  of  the  West  and  "East.  There  is  a 
rich,  elaborate  style  of  decoration  in  India  which  we 
can  trace  back  to  the  tenth  century ;  but  there  we 
lose  the  thread,  to  refind  it,  however,  in  this  solitary 
building.  The  "rosaces,"  for  instance,  between  the 
triangles  at  Mashita  are  almost  identical  with  those 

*  Built  by  Shah  Jehan,  1628  to  1658. 


THE   PERSIAN   PALACE   OF   MASHITA.  895 

that  adorn  the  fair  marble  temples  at  Mounts  Girnar 
or  Abu  ;  and  that  peculiar  conventional  treatment  of 
vegetable  forms  which  is  the  principal  beauty  of  the 
fagade  at  Mashita  is  reproduced  —  without  the  ani- 
mals, of  course — in  almost  all  the  mosques  in  Guje- 
rat,  especially  at  Ahmedabad.* 

Had  it  not  been  that  the  principal  buildings  of  the 
Sassanians,  or  of  the  Caliphs,  were  erected  on  alluvial 
plains  of  the  Lower  Euphrates  or  Tigris,  all  this  would 
have  been  plain  to  us  long  ago.  As,  from  their  local- 
ity, however,  these  were  almost  invariably  of  brick, 
and  depended  for  their  ornamentation  on  plaster,  or 
carvings  in  wood  or  metal,  all  which  have  perished, 
it  was  not  till  a  building  erected  and  ornamented  in 
stone  was  discovered  that  the  necessary  link  in  the  in- 
quiry was  supplied.  Many  more  require  to  be  traced 
out  before  the  whole  story  can  be  said  to  be  complete. 
But  in  the  mean  while  this  discovery  of  the  palace 
of  Mashita  is  not  only  interesting  from  its  own  beauty 
and  elegance,  but  because  it  is  the  last,  and  the  only 
remaining,  example  known  to  us  of  the  "Byzantino- 
Sassanian  style  of  architecture,  and  also  because  its 
style  was  that  which  eventually  blossomed  into  the 
exquisitely  elaborate  forms  of  the  Jaina  and  Saracenic 
styles  in  India. 

*  See   "Architecture   of  Ahmedabad,"  100,  photographic   phites. 
Murray,  1866. 


APPENDIX  A. 

(See  p.  50.) 

AURORA  AT  SEBBEH. 

By  R.  C.  JOHNSON. 

Thk  extraordinary  display  of  aurora  borealis  which  was  seen  on 
the  evening  of  Sunday,  the  4th  of  February,  all  over  Europe,  and  in 
parts  of  Asia  and  Africa,  was  observed  by  the  party  while  camping 
at  Sebbeh. 

It  made  us,  for  the  moment,  wish  to  be  back  again  in  our  more 
northern  clime,  where  we  knew  that  (fine  as  the  display  was  with  us) 
it  must  be  much  more  splendid.  However,  if  we  missed  seeing  it  in 
its  more  brilliant  aspect,  we  were  consoled  by  being  able  to  witness  a 
phenomenon  which  rarely  occurs  in  latitudes  so  far  south  as  30°. 

It  was  first  noticed  at  7  p.m.  (on  going  outside  the  tent  for  the  pur- 
pose of  observing  the  Zodiacal  light,  which  presents  in  these  latitudes 
a  much  more  imposing  spectacle  than  in  latitude  53°  N.);  and  we 
watched  it  at  intervals  until  midnight,  when  it  had  become  much 
fainter.  It  was  at  its  brightest  phase  about  nine  o'clock,  local  time 
(the  longitude  E.  is  35°  28',  or  two  hours  and  twenty-two  minutes), 
when  a  well-defined  coronal  arch  was  formed,  which  extended  in  Azi- 
muth nearly  90°  from  N.W.  to  N.E.,  and  in  altitude  about  28°,  almost 
reaching  the  pole-star. 

The  prevailing  color  was  yellowish,  with  occasionally  a  purplish 
tinge.  The  streamers  shot  up  from  the  horizon  and  then  faded  away ; 
but  the  display  was  totally  devoid  of  those  large  colored  sheets  of  lam- 
bent light  which  were  so  conspicuous  in  higher  latitudes. 

We  found  the  Arabs  who  were  about  the  camp  observing  the  au- 
rora with  but  a  slight  degree  of  interest.  They  never  looked  at  it  for 
more  than  a  few  minutes  at  a  time,  and  informed  us  that  it  had  very 
seldom  been  seen  by  them,  and  that  they  did  not  know  any  thing 
about  it. 

27 


APPENDIX  B. 

(See  p.  205.) 

ACCOUNT  OF  A  CURIOUS  PHYSICAL  PHENOMENON 
WITNESSED  AT  ZIZA, 

By  R.  C.  JOHNSON. 

On  the  evening  of  the  24th  of  Febniaiy,  about  eight  o'clock,  when 
leaving  the  tents  with  Dr.  Tristram  for  duck-shooting,  on  the  banks 
of  the  large  reservoir  at  Ziza,  we  both  noticed  that  our  path  was  en- 
compassed b}-  a  semicircular  halo  of  faint  light,  the  origin  of  which 
was  for  a  few  moments  rather  puzzUng. 

At  this  time  the  moon  was  about  nine  hours  past  the  full,  and,  shin- 
ing with  that  lustre  which  is  so  well  known  to  travelers  upon  a  table- 
land under  Eastern  skies,  like  a  ball  of  molten  silver,  appeared  to 
stand  out  in  strong  relief  against  the  intense  deep  blue  of  the  celestial 
vault.  Upon  attentively  considering  our  position  with  regard  to  the 
moon  and  the  halo,  we  found  that  it  was  exactly  that  required  for  the 
formation  of  a  rainbow  ;  and  we  evidently  saw  a  lunar  rainbow  on  the 
ground,  or,  to  speak  more  correctly,  a  lunar  dew-how. 

Since  returning  to  England,  I  have  made  some  inquiries,  but  have 
not  yet  found  a  description  of  this  curious  phenomenon  ;  nor  have  I 
met  with  any  one  who  has  noticed  it.  This  seems  strange ;  for  it  was 
so  conspicuous  that  we  did  not  fail  to  perceive  it  immediately  on  going 
out,  on  that  and  on  two  other  nights. 

I  had  many  opportunities  of  admiring  the  wonderful  clearness  of 
the  air  upon  this  table-land,  as  shown  in  the  increased  brilliancy  of 
the  stars.  They  shone  with  so  steady  a  light  that  twinkling  was  re- 
duced to  a  minimum,  and  the  different  colors  could  be  easily  distin- 
guished. 

Four  especially  were  very  striking — Sirius,  with  its  intense  white 
light ;  and  liigel,  with  perhaps  just  a  perceptible  tinge  of  blue,  shin- 
ing in  splendid  contrast  with  the  orange  of  a  Orionis  and  the  ruddi- 


APPENDIX.  399 

ness  of  Aldebaran.  With  a  first-rate  Cooke  achromatic  of  only  two 
inches  aperture,  tlie  detail  visible  in  the  nebula  of  Orion,  and  the 
stellar  clusters  in  Canis  Major,  made  one  long  to  be  able  to  bring  to 
bear  upon  them,  in  such  a  situation,  the  exquisite  defining  and  space- 
penetrating  powers  of  my  nine-and-a-quarter-iuch  Browning,  with  re- 
flector. 


APPENDIX  C. 

ON  THE  FLORA  OF  MOAB. 
By  the  late  W.  AMHEKST  HATNE,  B.A.,  Trinity  College,  Cambridge. 

The  specimens  on  which  the  following  sketch  is  founded  were  col- 
lected in  February  and  March,  and  have  been  allocated  to  their  proper 
orders  and  genera  in  the  Herbarium  at  Oxford,  kindly  put  at  the  dis- 
posal of  myself  and  the  Rev.  H.  E.  Fox,  by  Professor  Lawson. 

The  district  referred  to  as  Moab  must  be  understood  to  consist  of  a 
parallelogram,  in  rough  measurement,  some  fifty  miles  from  north  to 
south,  by  thirty  from  east  to  west,  bounded  on  the  west  by  the  Dead 
Sea  and  the  Jordan,  on  the  east  by  the  pilgrim  road  from  Damascus 
to  Mecca,  and  extending  from  the  oasis  of  the  Safieh,  on  the  south,  to 
the  gorge  which  runs  down  from  Elealeh  and  Heshbon  to  the  Jordan 
Valley,  on  the  north,  and  including  that  portion  of  the  plain  of  Shit- 
tim  which  lies  between  the  water-course  and  the  Dead  Sea,  now  known 
as  the  Seisaban.  Out  of  this  parallelogram  eliminate  a  block  at  the 
south-east  angle,  and  you  have  a  good  idea  of  the  country  worked, 
which  might  be  aptly  delineated  by  a  capital  P. 

Within  this  area  three  climates,  if  not  three  floras,  are  included : 
we  experienced  winter,  spring,  and  summer  in  three  successive  days : 
one  night,  clad  in  every  available  vestment,  we  shivered  between  our 
blankets,  while  the  water  froze  into  block-ice  in  the  basins  at  our  feet, 
and  the  thermometer  registered  24°  Fahr.  The  next,  we  sat  out 
round  a  camp-fire  and  enjoyed  the  open  air  and  the  warmth  at  the 
same  time ;  and  the  third,  I  wrote  my  journal  with  my  coat  off,  with 
the  thermometer  at  76°  at  midnight.  For  the  sake  of  convenience, 
therefore,  I  shall  divide  the  country  into  three  zones,  corresponding 
to  these  three  seasons,  and  call  them  the  frigid,  temperate,  and  torrid. 
The  high  level  plateau,  three  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  supplies  the 
first  field ;  the  deep  ravines  which  cleave  it  include  the  other  two. 
The  level  of  the  Mediterranean  may  be  taken  as  the  division  between 
the  second  and  third. 


APPENDIX.  401 

What  I  have  called  the  frigid  zone  yielded,  during  the  months  of 
February  and  March,  twenty  plants  in  flower,  the  temperate  eighty- 
three,  and  the  torrid  one  hundred  and  forty-seven — just  reversing  the 
ratio  of  time,  and  giving  one  plant  a  day  to  the  plateau  and  sixteen  to 
the  shores  of  the  sea  and  its  gullies. 

1.  The  great  plateau  of  Moab  is  chiefly  grass  south  of  the  Arnon 
and  west  of  Heshbon ;  the  turf  is  turned  over  once  in  some  three  or 
four  years  by  the  plow ;  the  rest  is  virgin  grazing  land.  There  is  fine 
grass  in  the  western  section,  but  it  grows  gradually  poorer  and  thinner 
as  you  advance  eastward,  till  it  begins  to  give  way  to  a  low  scrub  of 
Artemisia.  This,  not  yet  in  flower  in  March,  gave  out  aromatic  scent 
as  it  was  bruised  by  our  horses'  feet ;  and  among  it  masses  of  whitened 
snail-shells  and  armies  of  caterpillars  betokened  the  past,  and  formed 
the  present  food  of  myriads  of  larks.  This  wormwood,  in  turn,  gives 
way  to  patches  of  sandy  soil  and  a  white  lichen,  as  the  low  range  of 
desert  hills  which  bounds  the  plain  is  approached. 

No  trees,  not  even  any  shrubs  or  bushes,  exist  over  the  whole  of 
this  great  plateau,  except  the  summit  of  Jebel  Attarus.  This,  for 
some  miles,  is  studded  with  old  trees,  after  the  fashion  of  a  scattered 
park.  There  were  almonds  in  blossom,  and  the  larger  ones  seemed 
terebinths,  by  guess ;  but  not  even  leaves  were  out  when  I  was  there. 

To  deal  with  this  zone  slightly  more  in  detail.  At  Kerak  and  its 
neighborhood  there  was  absolutely  nothing  out ;  my  only  observations 
were  Ceterach  officinarum  in  the  walls  of  the  Western  Castle,  and 
leafless  figs  and  pomegranates  in  the  valleys  below  it :  olives  and  ole- 
anders alone  kept  their  gray  and  sombre  foliage.  Considering  the 
frosts  at  nights,  it  was  rather  marvelous  than  otherwise  that  there 
should  be  any  thing  in  flower  beyond  a  few  diminutive  Geraniacea 
and  Crucifera;,  and  Asperugo  procumhens,  among  the  shelter  of  the 
ruins  of  Khan  Zebib,  and  other  places.  Yet  a  white  PancratiuTu  had 
chosen  the  richest  soil  of  the  plains  near  Dibon,  to  drive  its  roots  be- 
yond the  reach  of  any  thing  but  a  spade,  and  was  stan-ing  the  ground 
in  February.  Even  near  Ziza,  where  it  was  the  coldest,  Leontice 
leontopetalum  was  preparing  to  pave  the  ground  with  gold,  its  spread- 
ing yellow  spikes  and  peony-like  leaves  bursting  from  among  the  grass 
in  masses.  In  the  more  sheltered  hollows  of  the  plain,  farther  west, 
was  already  spread  a  scarlet  carpet  of  anemones  {A.  coronaria)  bor- 


402  APPENDIX. 

dered  and  patterned  with  the  brilliant  blue  of  the  lovely  Veronica 
syriaca.  It  was  not,  however,  until  the  middle  of  March  that  the  dull 
orange  spikes  of  Asphodehs  luteus  were  in  full  flower  among  the  ruins 
of  Ma'in,  and  Geranium  tuberosum  out  on  the  plowed  lands  of  Nebo. 
•  2.  Leaving  the  plateau,  and  descending  to  the  valleys  and  slopes 
tending  toward  the  Dead  Sea,  we  at  once  reached  a  rich  spring  flora- 
Its  chief  feature  was  the  immense  variety  of  leguminous  plants :  out 
of  thirty-five  species  of  this  order,  collected  in  the  country,  twenty-five 
were  in  flower  in  this  division.  The  upper  valleys  of  the  Arnon  and 
the  Zerka  Ma'in,  the  slopes  and  nooks  of  Attarus  and  Nebo,  were  the 
chief  fields  of  this  temperate  zone.  On  the  southern  side  of  the  Ar- 
non Valley  the  almond-tree  was  in  full  flower,  and  the  white  asphodel 
(A.  ramosus)  bursting  into  bloom  on  the  15th  of  Februaiy,  while  a  lit- 
tle goldon  Gagea  studded  the  slopes.  Clumps  of  oleander  grew  about 
the  stream,  not  yet  showing  signs  of  flower.  I  saw  it  in  its  glory  a 
month  later,  fringing  the  shores  of  Gennesareth. 

On  the  northern  and  more  sunny  side  of  the  Arnon  the  flowers 
were  much  more  numerous.  Here  we  first  met  with  four  plants 
which  soon  became  very  familiar  friends— ^cAiwm  violaceum,  the  pur- 
ple Bugloss  of  our  Channel  Islands,  which  is  one  of  the  commonest 
plants  throughout  the  whole  of  Palestine ;  and  of  which  I  afterward 
saw,  literally,  miles  covering  the  basaltic  boulders  of  Galilee,  on  the 
descent  from  Tabor  to  Tiberias;  Astragalus  Jmmosus,  or  a  species 
veiy  nearly  allied  to  it ;  Salvia  horminum,  with  a  tuft  of  bright  lilac 
bracts  crowning  its  spike ;  and  Lathyrus  cicera,  rather  pinker  and 
much  larger  flowered  than  our  L.  nissolia.  Numbers  of  little  crucifers 
and  the  diminutive  CeratocephalusfaJcatus  grew  higher  up.  Among 
the  crucifers  was  Capsella  bursa-pastoris,  as  a  pendant  to  which 
Draba  vernn  grew  abundantly  at  Dibon. 

So  much  for  Arnon.  A  fortnight  later  we  dropped  down  into  the 
valley  of  the  Zerka  Ma'in.  Grateful  to  man  and  beast  were  the  rich, 
rank  herbage  and  abundant  water  after  the  cold  bare  plains.  Our  old 
friends  of  the  Arnon  Valley  re-appeared— ^sfra^-a/ws  hamosus,  Echium 
violaceum,  and  Lathyrus  cicera ;  others,  that  were  equally  conspicu- 
ous, were  a  dwarf  blue  iris  (7.  sisyrinchium\  which  covered  the  open 
ground  after  twelve  o'clock,  and  which  appeared  everywhere  after- 
ward, from  Moab  to  Lebanon  ;  and  the  Retem-bush  of  Scripture  {Re- 


APPENDIX.  403 

tama  retem),  with  its  white  flowers  and  purple  calyx.  Here  and  there 
a  gorgeous  tulip  (Tulipa  gesneriana)  was  in  flower,  and  two  rock  cis- 
tuses  {Helianthemum  giittatum  and  H.  cvgyptiucuvi). 

Leguminoste,  as  I  said  before,  were  profusely  represented ;  three 
species  of  Astragali,  besides  the  one  already  referred  to ;  Hippocrepis 
ciliata,  with  its  bizarre  pods,  already  formed  ;  Vicia  lutea,  two  kinds 
of  Lotus,  and  several  others.  It  was  early  for  Labiates,  which  must 
form  a  large  proportion  of  the  summer  flora  of  this  zone  of  Moab,  as 
they  do  that  of  the  rest  of  Palestine.  A  few  deliciously-scented  ones 
were  in  flower,  a  yellow  ajuga  {A.  Chamcepitys  ?),  in  the  crannies  of 
the  rocks  ;  Salvia  comrnentata,  and  the  superb  Eremostachys  laciniata, 
with  its  large,  deeply-cut  leaves,  giving  out  the  most  refined  scent  of 
musk.  A  month  after,  I  walked  up  to  my  ears  through  a  bed  of  it  in 
the  borders  of  the  plain  of  Esdraelon.  Another  fortnight,  and  the 
valley  under  Nebo,  by  the  Wells  of  Moses,  added  a  number  of  legumi- 
nous plants  and  Rhagadiolus  stellatus  to  my  list  of  this  zone ;  and  the 
cave  under  the  water-fall  at  the  latter  place  furnished  the  finest  maid- 
en-hair (^Adiantum  capillus-veneris)  I  ever  gathered,  except  the  three- 
foot  fronds  of  Engedi. 

3.  By  far  the  most  interesting  of  the  three  fields  was,  of  course,  the 
Dead  Sea  basin.  Seven  years  ago.  Dr.  Tristram  worked  the  natural 
history  of  the  Holy  Land  during  a  period  of  nine  months,  and  Mr.  B. 
T.  Lowne  accompanied  him  as  botanist  of  his  party.  Passing  along 
the  whole  of  the  western  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  round  the  south 
end  as  far  as  the  Ghor  es  Safieh,  he  had  every  opportunity  of  seeing 
the  flora  of  the  basin  on  its  western  side.  His  collection,  kindly  put 
at  my  disposal  by  Dr.  Tristram,  has  materially  aided  me  in  naming 
my  own,  and  also  in  giving  me  data  for  a  comparison  between  the 
east  and  west  shores  of  the  sea. 

This  comparison  leads  me  to  the  conclusion  that  there  is  no  essen- 
tial dift'erence  between  the  flora  of  the  two  shores.  Most  of  the  more 
conspicuous  of  Mr.  Lowne's  species,  peculiar  to  the  Dead  Sea  basin, 
I  gathered,  or  observed,  on  the  eastern  side.  A  considerable  number 
of  his  plants  are  wanting  in  my  list ;  but  they  are  either  not  the  most 
typical,  or  their  place  is  supplied  by  species  allied  in  character  and 
geographical  distribution. 

One  remarkable  fact,  however,  became  patent  by  our  visit,  and  that 


•404  APPENDIX. 

is  the  dependence  of  the  different  oases  round  tlie  shores  of  the  Dead 
Sea  upon  the  partial  rain-falls  of  the  winter.  It  so  happened  that  we 
were  in  theWady  Zuweirah  and  the  Ghor  es  Safieh,  situated,  respect- 
ively, at  the  south-west  and  south-east  corners  of  the  sea,  in  exactly 
the  same  week  as  Dr.  Tristram  and  Mr.  Lowne  had  been  seven  years 
ago.  That  year  every  thing  was  in  full  flower ;  this,  hardly  a  plant 
showed  even  signs  of  budding.  Ruta  tuherculata  and  a  little  Spergu- 
laria  were  the  only  plants  I  gathered  in  flower  at  the  Wady  Zuweirah, 
while  Mr.  Lowne  collected  eighty-two.  Similarly,  on  the  Ghor  es 
Safieh,  Ricinus  communis,  Salvadora  persica,  Loranthus  acacioe,  and 
Solarium  sanctum  made  up  the  total  of  two  days'  observation.  Corn 
was  but  just  springing.  The  canebrakes  had  not  begun  to  shoot,  and 
the  ground  was  hard  and  dry.  The  more  settled  Arabs  of  the  dis- 
tricts, who  till  the  ground,  complained  of  the  lateness  of  the  rains,  and 
so  explained  the  phenomena,  which  had  appeared  the  more  curious  to 
us  as  at  Engedi  every  thing  was  much  farther  advanced,  and  a  very 
short  distance  north  of  the  Safieh  we  came  across  a  spring  vegetation 
the  following  day. 

Mr.  Lowne  remarks  in  his  paper  ("Journal  Linn.  Soc,"  vol.  ix.,  p. 
201,  1865)  that  the  curious  asclepiad,  Calotropis  procera,  is  not  nearly 
so  abundant  on  the  Ghor  es  Safieh  as  at  Engedi.  Had  the  force  of 
circumstances  allowed  him  to  cross  the  chief  Seil,  or  torrent,  which 
divides  the  oasis  into  two  nearly  equal  halves,  he  would  have  found 
that  the  district  to  the  north  of  it  consists  of  a  perfect  miniature  forest 
of  this  odd  tree,  far  exceeding  any  thing  that  Engedi  can  show. 

Thus  this  oasis  of  the  Safieh  consists,  first,  of  a  park-like  district, 
with  thorny  trees,  such  as  Zizyphus  and  Acacia  seyal,  growing  among 
the  corn  and  grass ;  second,  of  a  scattered  wood  of  Calotropis  procera ; 
third,  of  an  open  belt  studded  with  rushes,  running  parallel  with  these 
two  parks  on  the  sea-side ;  and,  lastly,  of  a  dense  jungle  of  canebrake, 
which,  growing  in  water,  bars  the  passage  to  the  edge  of  the  sea,  and 
forms  a  secure  retreat  for  the  wild  boar. 

Leaving  the  park  and  working  northward,  flowers  covered  the 
ground  as  we  approached  the  open  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea,  near  Bey 
Nmeirah ;  no  less  than  nine  species  of  crucifers  were  in  flower,  a 
dwarf  stock  (Matthiola  oxyceras)  studded  tlie  ground,  while  the  Rose 
of  Jericho  (.4 nas^a^jca  hierochuntica)  was  in  flower  and  leaf;  whereas 


APPENDIX. 


405 


at  the  Wadi  Zuweirah,  two  days  before,  nothing  was  to  be  seen  of  it 
but  the  dry  contracted  bunches  of  last  year.  At  the  Wady  Dra  a  we 
left  the  tropics. 

It  was  three  weeks  later  when  we  descended  to  the  remarkable 
gorge,  or  hot  springs,  of  Callirrhoe,  the  lower  portion  of  the  wady  now 
known  as  the  Zerka  Ma'in.  The  sides  of  the  gorge  were  covered,  on 
the  1st  of  March,  by  the  summer  flowers  of  the  more  temperate  zone 
aboxe— Ranunculus  syriacus,  which  had  already  succeeded  to  Anemone 
coronaria,  several  Allice,  and  a  large  Fanicidum.  Iris  sisyrinchium 
was  stiU  in  flower,  and  much  more  luxuriant  than  up  above.  The 
course  of  tlie  hot  river  is  marked  by  a  jungle  of  canebrake  and  tama- 
risks, with  bushes  of  Atriphx  halimus  scattered  just  above.  Tlie  ole- 
anders, which  fringe  the  cold  stream  higher  up,  cease  as  soon  as  the 
first  hot  spring  comes  in,  as  do  also,  if  I  mistake  not,  the  willows  and 
the  water-cress.  There  is  a  perfect  paradise  of  flowers  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  hot  springs  themselves,  which,  although  some  seven 
miles  east  of  the  Dead  Sea,  is  more  neariy  allied  to  the  flora  of  the 
Wady  Zuweirah  than  any  locality  on  the  west  coast,  or,  in  feet,  than 
any  other  yet  worked,  except  the  shore  just  north  and  south  of  the 
outftill  of  its  waters. 

A  verv  considerable  proportion  of  the  conspicuous  Asiatic  and  Af- 
rican plants  found  by  Mr.  Lowne  in  the  Mahawat  and  Zuweirah  flats, 
occur  either  in  the  Callirrhoe  gorge  near  the  sulphur  springs,  or  among 
the  embouchures  of  the  similar  springs  at  Zara,  a  mile  or  two  south  of 
its  mouth.  For  example,  the  curious  asclepiad,  Dtzmia  cordata,  with 
its  habit  of  throttling  itself  by  climbing  on  the  stiff  but  withering 
branches  of  the  previous  year,  was  fairly  abundant  just  on  the  sulphur 
deposited  by  the  springs.  Cleoine  trinervia  flourished  in  the  same 
locality,  growing  almost  in  bushes,  and  giving  out  when  bruised  a 
nauseous  smell  resembling  the  sulphur  on  which  it  grew.  Bushes  of 
Zygophyllum  album  cling  to  the  rocks.  Fagonia  sinaitira,  and  an- 
other more  shrubby  and  more  spiny  species,  with  large  pink  flowers, 
were  there.  Trichodesma  africana  and  a  Forskaklea  attached  them- 
selves to  one's  clothes  by  their  viscous  hairs,  as  one  forced  one's  way 
along-side  the  stream.  Two  heliotropes  also  occurred,  one  by  the 
baths,  the  other  at  Zara;  and  Statice pruinosa,  as  well  as  S.  Thouini, 
at  one  or  both  places.     All  these,  or  their  congeners,  were  found  by 


406  APPENDIX. 

Mr.  Lowne  at  the  Wady  Zuweirah.  The  composites,  too,  coiTespond, 
as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  identify  them ;  five  of  the  more  marked 
Anvillea  garcini,  two  Asterisci  (pt/gmc^iis  and  another),  Senecio  De- 
caisnei,  and  Pulicaria  undulata,  occur  in  both  our  lists.  Mr.  Lowne 
got  eleven  species  from  Zuweirah  ;  I,  twelve  from  Callirrhoe  and  Zara 
together.  Of  these,  five  have  been  shown  identical ;  a  few  belong  to 
the  temperate  zone,  and  the  remainder  are  difficult  to  determine. 
This  oi~der,  it  will  be  observed,  was  as  largely  represented  in  this  lo- 
cality in  March  as  Cruciferie  had  been  three  weeks  before  at  N'mei- 
rah,  and  nearly  as  largely  as  Leguminosae  was  in  the  more  temperate 
regions.  Out  of  twenty-six  composites,  twenty-one  come  from  this 
zone,  and  twelve  from  Zara  and  CallinJioe.  Of  less  abundant  orders, 
we  have  j^rua  javanica,  Boerhaavia  verticillata,  Atriplex  halimus, 
and  Rumex  vesicarius,  which  belong,  also,  either  to  Zuweirah  or  En- 
gedi ;  and  the  same  grasses,  an  Andropogon  and  two  Aristidce,  were 
also  found.  The  chief  additions  to  Mr.  Lowne's  Wady  Zuweirah  list, 
as  regards  plants  inhabiting  the  eastern  and  southern  deserts,  are — 
Reliant he.j/ium  kahiricum,  a  shrubby  rock-cistus  ;  Astragalus  timidus, 
with  its  bladder-like  calyx ;  Acanthodium  spicatum,  and  the  odd  Pte- 
ranthus  echinatus,  found  by  others  already  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Jericho;  the  lovely  geranium  (Erodium  hirtiwi'),  the  distribution  of 
which  is  from  the  deserts  of  Algeria  to  those  of  Palmyria,  and  which, 
with  Trigonella  pecten,  was  very  abundant  just  above  the  baths.  Two 
Orobanches  of  most  gorgeous  hue  I  have  been  unable  to  identify; 
they  grow  to  the  height  of  two  or  three  feet,  and  even  more,  the  one 
a  deep  purple,  the  other  a  deep  chrome-yellow,  apparently  parasitic  on 
Atriplex  halimus ;  they  occurred  both  at  Callirrhoe,  on  the  shore,  and 
in  the  Seisaban.  Roemeria  orientalis  grew  on  the  basalt  going  down 
to  Zara.  Of  other  additions,  Freirea  alsina-folia,  a  Callipeltis,  and 
an  Epipactis,  the  latter,  from  within  a  yard  or  two  of  the  water  of  the 
Dead  Sea,  are  instances  of  the  commingling  of  the  European  with  the 
tropical  flora,  as  also  Notholoena  lanuginosa  on  a  detached  basaltic 
boulder  at  Zara.  Ceterach  officinarum,  growing  at  Kerak,  and  Adian- 
tum  capillus-veneris,  wherever  it  could  find  a  moist  place,  whether  in 
the  mouths  of  old  store-wells  among  the  ruined  cities  of  the  high  level 
plateau  or  at  the  very  exit  of  Callirrhoe,  make  up  the  Moab  ferns. 
As  for  the  trees  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  baths,  the  palm  Pkcenix 


APPENDIX.  407 

was  by  far  the  largest  and  most  abiindiint,  growing,  however,  only  on 
clumps,  just  about  the  sources  of  the  hot  streams.  The  Arabs,  either 
through  ignorance  or  indifference,  make  no  attempt  to  fructify  them  : 
on  the  contrary,  they  ruin  both  their  health  and  their  appearance  by 
setting  fire  to  the  canebrakes  among  which  they  grow,  for  the  sake  of 
burning  the  tangled  thickets  and  providing  a  fresh  supply  of  cane- 
shoots,  which  are  a  favorite  food  for  their  camels  at  a  certain  time  of 
the  year,  when  they  are  said  to  stand  in  need  of  purgatives.  In 
consequence  of  this,  the  stems  of  the  palms  are  left  blackened  and 
charred,  and  their  lower  branches  dead  and  drooping.  The  ever- 
accumulating  deposit  from  the  sulphur  springs  is  another  enemy  to 
the  palm-tree ;  some  stumps  remain,  not  petrified,  but,  if  I  may  be 
allowed  the  expression,  "  sulphurized,''  the  formation  of  the  wood  still 
quite  visible,  but  soft,  and  gray,  and  crumbling,  so  that  you  can  cut  it 
out  with  a  pocket-knife,  in  blocks  like  cheese.  The  only  other  tree 
beside  the  tamarisk,  at  the  water-side,  which  hardly  deserves  the 
name,  was  the  curious  and  abnormal  Moringa  aptera,  observed  both 
by  Mr.  Lowne  and  myself  at  Engedi. 

It  only  remains  for  me  now  to  say  a  few  words  about  the  plains  of 
Shittim  and  the  north-east  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea,  between  that  and 
the  mouth  of  Callirrhoe.  It  was  the  middle  of  March  by  the  time 
we  visited  these  districts,  and  the  grasses  were  in  much  greater  force 
than  before :  a  third  of  the  twenty-three  Gramina  were  collected  in 
the  Seisaban.  This  oasis  is  of  much  greater  extent  than  any  of  the 
others  which  border  on  the  Dead  Sea ;  the  trees  are  much  scattered : 
but  otherwise  it  resembles  the  Safieh  and  Jericho.  I  observed  the 
osher-tree  again,  but  not  in  great  profusion ;  in  which,  however,  it 
may  well  be,  as  it  was  impossible  to  explore  the  whole  district.  At 
the  time  we  were  there  the  place  seemed  already  suffering  from  lack 
of  rain,  and  the  ripe  grasses  had  quite  an  autumnal  look  in  March, 
while  the  sirocco  blowing  dried  every  thing  to  tinder. 

Riding  from  the  Seisaban  south  toward  the  mouth  of  Callirrhoe, 
the  stony  shores  of  the  Dead  Sea  were  covered  with  masses  of  color, 
the  winged  bracts  of  Statice  Thouini  and  the  large  membraneous  pe- 
tals of  Rumex  ve.sic.arius  alternating  in  acres  of  lavender  and  pink. 
By  far  the  commonest  plant  next  to  these  was  a  little  dwarf  campa- 
nula (C.  dichotoma),  its  deep   blue  bells  dotted  among  the  stones. 


408  APPENDIX. 

The  borders  of  the  streams  which  come  down  from  the  mountains 
every  few  miles  were  fringed  with  deciduous  trees,  whose  bright  light- 
green  foliage  formed  a  refreshing  contrast  to  the  dull  olive-green  line 
of  the  more  usual  shrubs  of  the  country,  such  as  A  triplex  halimtis, 
Zizyphus,  Lotus,  Retama  retem,  and  Moringa  aptera.  Large  bushes 
of  a  hawthorn  (Cratcegus),  not  yet  in  flower,  still  more  pleasant!}'  re- 
minded one  of  English  verdure ;  our  old  friends  of  Callirrhoe,  Dcemia 
cordata  and  Cleome  trinervia,  occurred  again  here  not  far  from  the 
north-east  shore  of  the  sea,  apparently  only  on  a  line  of  mordine  de- 
tached from  some  sulphurous  vein  in  the  mountains ;  an  asclepiadeous 
shrub,  which  I  have  not  been  able  to  identify,  was  also  found ;  a 
Cuscuta  was  parasitic  on  Rumex  vesicarius,  and  oleanders  (Nerium 
oleander),  reached  down  the  streams  nearly  to  the  shore,  while  maid- 
en-hair (Adiantum),  flourished  in  a  water-fall  not  more  than  twenty 
yards  from  the  sea.  The  most  unexpected  botanical  feature  in  the 
landscape,  however,  was  the  comparative  abundance  of  the  palm  close 
to  the  water's  edge,  the  trees  growing  on  the  cliffs  overhanging  the 
water,  clinging  in  the  clefts  of  rocks  where  a  miniature  gorge  brings 
down  a  trickling  fall  of  water,  and  dotted  right  up  the  mountain  side, 
in  some  places,  as  far  as  one  could  see. 

This  feature  is  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  in  the  present  differ- 
ence between  the  two  sides  of  the  sea.  On  the  west  not  a  trace  of 
the  palm  exists,  save  one  little  clump  found  by  Dr.  Tristram  in  a  se- 
questered nook  of  Mons  Quarantania,  the  sole  remnant  of  the  trees 
of  Jericho,  once  the  city  of  palms,  and  at  Hazezon-tamar,  or  Engedi, 
petrified  in  the  rocks  above  the  stream.  On  the  east  it  still  obtains 
at  the  Wady  Dra'a,  Callirrhoe,  all  along  the  north-east  shore,  and  up 
the  Wady  Heshban.  To  draw  out  further  the  contrast  between  the 
two  shores  may  be  worth  a  few  words.  Owing  partly  to  a  much 
larger  supply  of  water,  partly  to  the  almost  entire  absence  of  the  marl 
deposit,  which  is  nearly  always  absolutely  bare  of  vegetation  where 
it  occurs,  the  whole  of  the  east  side  is  comparatively  fertile,  and 
abounds  not  only  in  smaller  plants,  but  has  a  fair  allowance  of  trees 
and  larger  shrubs  ;  nowhere  is  the  eye  pained  by  the  frightful  desola- 
tion of  the  western  shore,  where  a  solitary  tamarisk  or  salicornia  looks 
like  a  signal  of  distress  hung  out  at  a  distance  of  a  mile  or  two  from 
its  next  neighbors.     Even  the  oases  on  the  west,  as  Engedi  and  Zu- 


APPENDIX.  409 

weirah,  are  sparse,  barren,  and  sandy,  compared  with  Zara  and  the 
Safieh,  to  which  they  exactly  correspond  in  point  of  position.  This 
well-watered  and  fertile  condition,  speaking  comparatively,  of  the 
eastern  side,  results  in  a  much  greater  commingling  of  the  flora  of 
more  temperate  regions  with  that  of  the  desert,  which  needs  such 
special  conditions  of  soil  and  climate  as  the  Dead  Sea  affords,  than 
occurs  on  the  western  side. 

The  250  plants  found  in  Moab  from  the  beginning  of  Febntary  to 
the  middle  of  March  belong  to  fifty-eight  natural  orders,  of  which  by 
far  the  best  represented  are  Leguminosa;  with  thirty-five  species,  Co7n- 
positce  and  Cruriferce,  each  twenty -six ;  and  Gramina,  twenty-three. 
After  these  follow  Liliacecc,  twelve ;  Scrophulariacece,  nine ;  Caryo- 
phyllacecE,  GeraniacecB,  LabiatoB,  and  Boraginece,  eight  apiece.  Um- 
bellifers  were  remarkably  scarce,  although  I  took  particular  pains  to 
remark  them.  I  have  only  five  in  flower;  and  of  these  hardly  any 
are  in  fruit.  Ranunculacece  and  Zygophyllece  had  also  five  represent- 
atives;  but  no  other  order  had  more  than  four — Cistinece,  Orohan- 
chece,  EuphorhiacecB,  and  Cyperaceoe,  having  each  that  number.  These 
statistics  bring  me  two  results.  I  think  we  have  sufficiency  of  data  to 
establish  three : 

1.  The  flora  is  remarkable  for  a  small  average  number  of  species 
distributed  through  a  large  number  of  orders — an  average  of  four  and 
a  half  species  to  each  of  the  fifty-eight  orders.  This  fact  was  pre- 
viously remarked  by  Mr.  Lowne,  and  is  not  unnatural  in  a  country 
which  forms  the  border-land  of  Europe,  Asia,  and  Africa,  the  more 
hardy  and  accommodating  plants  of  each  of  these  geographical  di- 
visions holding  their  own,  while  those  more  readily  affected  by  varia- 
tion of  soil  or  climate  disappear. 

2.  The  east  shore  of  the  Dead  Sea  diff"ers  widely  from  the  west,  in 
its  general  character ;  yet,  notwithstanding  the  said  differences,  as  to 
soil  and  water,  the  flora  of  the  two  shores  is  identical  in  character, 
and,  as  far  as  our  experience  yet  goes,  nearly  coincident  in  detail. 

3.  The  desert  flora  of  the  Dead  Sea  is  not  confined  so  exclusively 
to  its  southern  extremity  as  an  examination  of  the  western  shore 
alone  might  lead  one  to  conclude ;  its  peculiarities  extend  nearly  to 
its  northern  limits ;  and  not  only  so,  but  also  obtain,  under  similar 
conditions,  in  one  spot,  six  or  seven  miles  removed  from  the  sea,  and 


410  APPENDIX. 

one  thousand  feet  above  it.  The  hot  baths  of  Callirrhoe,  where  the 
heat  locally  generated  by  the  outburst  of  five  or  ten  springs  of  water 
at  145°  Fahr.,  and  the  chemical  properties  of  the  soil  and  water,  tend, 
within  a  limited  area,  to  produce  a  result  similar  to  that  of  the  Dead 
Sea  itself.  This  result  is  not  produced  except  in  the  immediate  neigli- 
borhood  of  the  said  springs,  and  does  not  extend  the  whole  way  down 
the  gorge  to  the  sea. 


INDEX. 


Abof  da  IIouk,  31. 

Abou  End!,  319. 

Abotil  Ilaijad,  Wady,  40. 

Aboul  Obeidah,2-i6. 

Abou  Sheebeh,  Jebel,  297. 

Acoustic  properties  of  the  climate,  49. 

Adwan,  the,  20,  351. 

Agriculture,  Arab,  136,  320. 

AhHa,  Kirbet  el,  230. 

Ahsa,Wadyel,G4:. 

Ain  Jidy,  43. 

Ajermeh  Arabs,  1G9, 1T5, 17T,  351. 

Alakhi-kcmr,  155. 

Alexander,  son  of  Hyrcanus,  2T5. 

Ammouites,  battle  with  Joab,  321. 

Anazeh,  306. 

'Anizeh,  raid  of,  206. 

AroiMoab,  121, 124,133. 

Ara'ar,  Aroer,  144, 147. 
:  Arab  sacrifice,  262. 

Areopolis,  124. 

Aretas,  278. 

Areych,  M'ady,  42. 

Arnon,  Pass  of,  140. 

Arrest  at  Kerala,  98. 

Artillery,  Turkish,  173. 

Asabaia,  240. 

Asal,  Wady,  73. 

Ashteroth  Karnaim,  134. 

'Atabeiyeh,  Wady,  313. 

Atargatis  Carnioii,  134. 

Ataroth,  lis,  283. 

Atiyeh-beni,  33. 

,  attack  by,  58. 

Atroth  Shophan,  290. 

yl«an(.v,  283,  318. 

,  Jebel,  not  Pisgah,  287. 

,  trees  ou,  285. 

,  view  from,  286. 


Aurora  borealis,  remarkable,  49. 
Ayun  Momna,  Wady,  332,  339,  347. 
Azabarah,  240. 
Azizah,  Kirbet,  116. 

Baal-meon,  316,  317. 
Baaras,  root,  277. 
Balaam  and  Balak,  318. 
BaVhua,  139, 145. 
Baris,  290. 

Basalt  blocks,  126, 137. 
Bassus,  L.,278. 
Baths,  natural  hot,  254. 

,  Arab  hot,  261. 

Beggars,  Arab,  173. 

Beiram,  172, 178. 

Beit-harran,  360. 

Beit  el  Kurm,  133. 

Belka,  the,  238,  333. 

Beni  Hamideh,  130,  245. 

Beni  Na'ur,  36. 

Beni  Sakk'r,  109,  351 ;  character  of,  150 ; 

migrations,  238,  293  ;  pride  of,  293. 
Betan  el  Bareil,  243. 
Bethany,  375. 
Beth-haran,  360. 
Beth-jeshimuth,  362. 
Bethlehem,  23. 
Beth-meon,  318. 
Birch,  Dr.,  ISl. 
Black  country,  182. 
Botany  of  Moab,  357  ;  of  Callirrhoe, 

263. 
Botany: 

Artemisium,  163, 184. 

A  triplex  halimus,  264. 

Baaras,  gigantic  rue,  277. 

Crucifer,  264. 

Dcemia  cordata,  263. 


412 


IXDEX. 


BoTANT,  continued : 

Geranium,  269. 

Lonicera  indica,  43. 

Maideu-haif  fern,  45. 

Mistletoe,  Oriental,  ?86. 

Orobanches,  2&1. 

Poterium  .Hpinosum,  144. 

Statice,  364. 

Tidipa  gesneriana,  248. 
Burials,  primeval,  315. 
Burckhardt,  85, 143. 
Burrhotigkat,  332,  334. 
Bushariyeh,  Kasr  el,  63. 
Butm,  Wadtj,  165. 
Butterflies  of  Callirrhoe,  264. 

of  Zara,  298. 

Buxton,  19,  88, 110,  371. 

Caikns,  ancient,  189,  315,  359. 

Caled,  226. 

Callirrhoe,  248,  257,  368 ;  botany  of, 
263;  butterflies,  264;  geology,  252, 
258 ;  legends  on,  262 ;  mouth  of,  300 ; 
sacrifice  at,  202 ;  springs  of,  256. 

Camels,  170. 

Camping  in  darkness,  144. 

Carnaim,  134. 

Castle  of  Kerak,  91. 

Cat,  wild,  156. 

Cattle,  only  found  in  the  Hamideh,266. 

,  breed  of,  266. 

Cemetery,  Arab,  64. 

Chapel,  Crusading,  91. 

Chaplin,  Dr.,  255. 

Characmoab,  257. 

Chedorlaomer's  expedition,  134,  335. 

Chosroes  II.,  224;  history  of,  223. 

Churches,  Christian,  159,  326,  342. 

Circles  of  stones,  primeval,  283,  359. 

Coflfee-making,  Arab,  38, 177. 

Cold,  intense,  of  the  plains,  232. 

Crusading  remains  at  Kerak,  90. 

Dal'al,  Wadi/,  41. 

Daoud,  our  dragoman,  58, 101, 127. 

Dead  Sea,  view  of,  82 ;  appearance,  369. 

Deib,  Wady  ed,  332,  305. 

Delaiyat,  243. 

Dhiban,  146. 


Dhra'a,  190. 

Dibon,  146  ;  vineyards  of,  154. 

Dimnah,  120,  n. 

Dimon,  120,  n. 

Diplomacy,  Arab,  31. 

Dodge,  Rev.  D.  S.,  180. 

Dolmens,  283,  314,  358. 

Dra'a,  Wady,  79. 

Drake,  Mr.  Tyrwhitt,  18, 130, 183,  218. 

Duweineh,  124. 

Edom,  ancient  boundary  of,  64. 

El' AM,  S52. 

Elealeh,  352. 

Engedi,  43. 

Es  Salt,  174. 

Essenes,  the,  256. 

Eusebius,  77, 151,  290,  322,  340. 

Fantasia,  Arab,  described,  44. 
Feifeh,  Wady,  64. 
Fendi  y  Faiz,  241. 
Fergusson,  Mr.,  88,  223,  378-395. 
Fishing  in  Callirrhoe,  249. 
Flora  of  Judean  wilderness,  60. 
Ford  of  the  Dead  Sea,  51. 
Fox,  sagacity  of,  207. 
Fulco,  King,  92. 

Gazelle,  316. 

Geology  of  Moal),  74-SO,  252 ;  of  Cal- 
lirrhoe, 252,  258  ;  of  Jebel  Usduni, 
55;  of  the  highlands,  212. 

Gerahi,  Seil,  65. 

Ghar,  Wady  el,  30,  40. 

Ghawarineh  tribe,  60,  359. 

Ghfdeid,  Wady,  363. 

Ghedeimeh,  Wady,  332,  304. 

Gkor  es  S(i_nefi,  61,  07,  70. 

Ghurrah,  Wady,  136. 

Ghurundel,  Wady,  57,  65. 

Ghuweir,  Wady,  332. 

Gol)lan,  Sheik,  21,  329,  3.52,  353,  356. 

Godfrey  of  Bonlogne,  92. 

Gra'kki,  71. 

Grove,  Mr.  G.,  347. 

Gypsies,  179. 

Habis,  WadT/,  241. 


INDEX. 


413 


Haditha,  Jebel,  82. 

Hadj  road,  185,  212. 

Hakim,  expectations  from,  265,  306. 

Ham,  Hameitat,  Ham-mat,  132. 

Hamad,  120,  n. 

Hamideli,  the,  130 ;  character  of,  246, 
308. 

,  Sheik,  245,  319;  cattle  of,  206 ;  hos- 
pitality, 2S0. 

Hammml,  Wady,  86. 

Hamman,  el,  284. 

Hamzi,  Sheik,  27, 49,  58. 

Haiwizir,  71. 

Haroun,  Jebel,  51. 

Hashib,  Urn  el,  71. 

Hatrura,  Wadi;,  51. 

Hattin,  battle  of,  81. 

Hawara,  Wady,  332,  366. 

Hayne,  Mr.  W.  A.,  20, 110,  239,  292,  376. 

Hebrou,  28. 

Hemta,  132. 

Heraclius,  225. 

Herod  visits  Callirrhoe,  255  ;  fortifies 
Machaerus,  276. 

Herri,  Kasr  el,  192. 

Heshban,  Wady,  355. 

Heshbou,  351 ;  flsh-pools  of,  353. 

Hhoweiyeh,  116. 

Hhurreh,  el,  182. 

Hish,  ras,  52. 

Hor,  Mount,  51. 

Horse-hunting,  100,  283,  289. 

Hunieh,  Jebel,  310. 

Hxmasah,  el,  41 . 


Ibex,  264,  305. 
Ibex-hunter,  206. 
Ibn  Tarif,  130, 140. 
Ibrahim  Pasha,  92, 113,  205. 
Irby  and  Mangles,  85, 143,  255. 
Irrigation,  ancient,  200. 

Jahaz,  139. 

Jazel,  332. 

Jedeid,  Kirbet,  337 ;  Wady,  332. 

Jehalin,  the,  67. 

Jeib,  Wady,  57. 

Jelamet  es  Subhlia,  114. 

Jeljul,  118. 


Jelnl,  Jebel,  240. 

Jeraeel,  329,  370. 

Jephthah,  155. 

Jericho,  374. 

Jerifeh,  Wady,  332, 339, 363. 

Jeruel,  wilderness  of,  41. 

Jerome,  124, 134, 151. 

Jerusalem,  destroyed  by  Chosroe8,224. 

Jiahl,  Jebel,\U. 

Jiddreh,  Wadij,  167. 

John  Baptist,  place  of  imprisonment 
and  martyrdom,  278. 

Johnson,  R.C.,  20, 110. 

Jordan,  ford  of,  372. 

Josephus,  137 ;  description  of  Callir- 
rhoe, 255 ;  history  of  Machaerus,  275, 
276. 


Ka'abineh,  the,  37. 

Kefeir,  332. 

Kerak,  ascent  to,  79,  84 ;  entrance  of, 
84,87;  description  of,  85,  Sf 75. ;  wells 
of,  93  ;  mosque  of,  93  ;  houses,  96 ; 
Roman  baths  at,  97 ;  Christians  of, 
95, 106 ;  Christian  church  at,  97  ;  our 
arrest  at,  99 ;  Mudjelli  of,  103  ;  view 
from,  107;  relations  to  Beni  Sakk'r, 
109  ;  identity  with  Kir-moab,  120 ; 
visit  to  Sanhedrim  of,  121. 

Kerioth,  2S9. 

Khazal,  S/ayet,  165. 

Kir-haraseth,  120. 

Kirjath-huzoth,  318. 

Kir-moab,  120. 

Kiriathaim,  114,  289, 318. 

Klein,  Mr.,  20,  68,  94,  97,  99,  100,  102, 
103,  104,'  106,  108,  110,  111,  120,  127, 
128, 129, 136, 145,  255. 

'ITnif,  Wady,  284. 

Kobeisheh,  Wady,  86. 

Korcha,  71, 149. 

Kubboh,  el,  80. 

Kureitun,  114. 

Kureiyat,  289. 

Kureiyeh,  289. 

Kurvi  Dhiban,  154. 

Kurnml,  35. 

Knseib,  Wady,  57. 

KitsM,  232. 

28 


414 


INDEX. 


Lasha,  132. 

Legend  of  the  Christian  lady,  160. 

Lejtim,  Seil,  153. 

Letter-carrier  robbed,  128, 308. 

Lisan,  features  of,  73, 74;  panorama  of, 

78. 
Luynes,  Due  de,  255. 

Maooab^ub,  John,  322. 

Maccabees,  the,  275. 

Machserus,  ride  to,  268 ;  description  of, 

271. 
Machpelah,  cave  of,  28. 
Mddin,  119. 
Mahk'heiiah,  117. 
Ma'in,  316. 
Mammals  : 

Cam's  niloticus,  211. 
Cheetah,  179. 
Felis  caligata,  156. 
Gazelle,  215,  316. 
Ibex,  264,  305. 
Melio  melanurus,  160. 
Spalax  typhlus,  139, 327. 
Vulpes  variegatus,  207. 
Wolf,  334. 
Marl,  deposition  of,  75. 
Marriage,  Arab,  356. 
Mars,  temple  of,  133. 
Masada,  46. 

Mdshitd,  discovery  of,  212 ;  sculpture 

of,  214 ;  history  of,  222  ;  chapter  on, 

by  Mr.  Fergusson,  F.R.S.,  378-395. 

M'Deiiwh,  167. 

Medeba,  319,  322,  etc.;   reservoir  of, 

326. 
Mejd,  Wady,  51. 
Mejdelein,  136. 
Mekhersit,  124. 
Menjah,  155. 
Mersed,  51. 
Mesha,  117, 148, 149. 
MesKhad,  119. 
Mezra'ah,  75. 
STHeiyat,  337. 
Whheileh,  Wady,  116. 
Mile-stones,  Roman,  118, 131, 142, 358. 
Minnith,  155. 
Mirage,  185. 


Mishor,  or  plain  of  Moab,  geology  of, 
140, 153, 163. 

Missdehh,  132. 

M'khaur,  ill ;  wells  of,  272 ;  citadel, 
272  ;  history  of,  275. 

Mkharrhas,  Wady,  145,  n. 

Moab,  towns  of,  114. 

Moabite  Stone,  148. 

Mochrath,  82, 118. 

Modeh,  118. 

Mole-rat,  139. 

Moore,  Mr.  Noel,  134. 

Mouriyeh,  120. 

M'Seitbeh,  163, 164. 

WShmjgar,  350,  358. 

Mndjeili,  the,  of  Kerak,  104, 122 ;  ma- 
noeuvres of,  123, 128. 

Muhatet  el  Haj,  139. 

Muleteers,  artifices  of,  22 ;  prejudices 
of,  268. 

Murivhashah,  Nahr,  71. 

Muslubeiyeh,  334,  335 ;  view  from,  335. 

Nachal,  120. 

Naturalist,  Arab,  339,  370. 
yVur,  Wady,  156,  332,  340. 
Nebo,  318,  338 ;  view  from,  338 ;  iden- 
tity of  ancient  site,  340. 
Nebuchadnezzar,  150. 
Nejd,  Wady,  52. 
Nekad,  116. 

Nemriyeh,  gorge  of,  49. 
Nim'r,  328. 

Nimrim,  waters  of,  72. 
Night  affray,  77. 
N'rrieirah,  Wady,  71,  72. 
"Notitia,"  the,  181,197,240. 
N'ssour,  Wady,  167. 
Nubian  slave-girl,  253. 

Orak,  Jehel,  72. 
Oil-press,  1.51. 
Ornituology  : 

Ammoperdix  heyi,  144. 

Aquila  nmvia,  248. 

Bimaculated  duck,  233. 

Caccahis  saxatilis,  144, 159. 

Cort'MS  affinis,  264, 282, 307, 360. 

Cuckoo,  spotted,  370. 


INDEX. 


415 


Oenitholooy,  continued : 
Ciipselus  nielba,  24S,  366. 
Dotlerell,  1G9. 
Griffons  feeding,  239. 
Gypaetus  barbatiis,  146. 
Imperial  eagle,  232. 
Lanuer,  241. 
Passer  moabiticiis,  307. 
Sakk'r  fiilcon,  207,  241, 366. 
Sand-grouse,  169. 
Saxicola  monacha,  49. 
Sun-bird,  307.  i 

Sylvia  vielanothorax,  45. 
Tristram's  grakle,  282,  307. 
Turtur  risorius,  66. 

Palmek,  Professor,  18,  19,  64,  130, 161, 

181,  322,  344. 
Pasha,  reception  by  the,  170. 
Peor,  318. 

Peutinger  tables,  181. 
Phocas,  Emperor,  223. 
Pisgah,  287, 318,  339. 
Plain  of  Moab,  154, 163. 
Pliny,  description  of  Callirrhoe,  256; 

description  of  Machjerus,  275. 
Population,  decay  of,  201. 
Porter,  Dr.,  18. 
Ptolemy,   description    of  Callirrhoe, 

256. 

QuARANTANiA,  Mount,  374. 

Rabba,  121  ;    ruins   of,  125 ;    temple 

near,  132, 133. 
Raid,  Arab,  206. 

Rain,  effect  of,  in  the  wilderness,  39. 
Rakim,  124. 
Rashdyideh  Arabs,  43. 
R'mail,  191 . 

Reservoir,  ancient,  198, 326. 
Reuben,  tribe  of,  244. 
Raynald  of  Chatillon,  story  of,  81. 
Rika,  er,  135. 
Robbers,  alarm  of,  311. 
Roman  mile-stones,  118, 131, 142,  358. 
Roman  roads,  124,  131,  136,  142,  193, 

271,  284,  286,  293,  313,  315. 
R'seir,  Wadtj,  S3. 


Rtibt  el  Jannis,  51. 
Ruins,  how  caused,  227. 
Rujum  Hamain,  237. 
Rujum  Selun,  155. 

Sackifioe,  Arab,  262. 
Safieh,  the,  described,  61,  66,  70. 
Siifsaf,  Wady,  51,  73. 
Sahan,  112,  207,  243,  328. 
Salt  cave,  54. 

Mountain,  geology  of,  54. 

Samak,  175. 

Sandstone,  formation  of  Moab,  62. 

Sassanian  kings,  223. 

School-master,  Greek,  at  Kerak,  94. 

Sebbeh,  46. 

Seetzen,  151. 

Scideh,  Wady,  146. 

Seisaban,  the,  345,  360. 

Selameh,  Sheik,  31, 51,  58. 

Selami,  Mr.,  171. 

Senin,  Wady,  51. 

Seyal,  Wady,  45. 

Sheik  'Aisa,  ruins  of,  62. 

Shihati,  Jebel,  135, 136 ;  ruins  of,  138. 

Shittim,  Plain  of,  336. 

Shobek,  Wady,  167. 

Siddiyeh,  Wady,  65. 

Sihon,  battle-fleld  of,  137. 

Skirmish,  Arab,  58. 

Sodom,  site  of,  344. 

Solomon,  Pools  of,  24. 

Solomon's  Servant,  legend  of,  262. 

Stones,  custom  of  piling,  51. 

,  written,  search  for,  ISO. 

Stone  circles,  283,  293,  359. 
Store-houses,  under-ground,  196. 
Strabo  on  Machserus,  275. 
Siiaga,  Jebel,  184. 
Sudeir,  Wady,  42,  45. 
Sugar-mills,  76. 
Suhl,  120. 

Sulphur  deposits,  259,  366. 
Smn'hra,  Kirbet  es,  139. 
Snmia.,  Castle  of,  355. 
Sunday  observance,  207. 
Sxiwaineh,  Ain,  363. 
Suweiniyeh,  124. 
Synagogue,  ancient,  48. 


416 


INDEX. 


Ta'amieah,  22,  24,  35. 

Teim,  et,  290,  330. 

Temples,  Doric,  18S,  195 ;  Corinthian, 

235. 
Tents,  Arab,  descriptiorLof,  37. 
Terebinth-tree,  133. 

of  Attarus,  287. 

Thamathse,  181. 

Thief-catching,  100. 

Themed,  Wady,  167, 179. 

Thenib,  236. 

Theniyeh,  120. 

Trees  on  Attarus,  285. 

Trotter,  M.,  20, 160, 168, 189,  232, 249. 

Tufileh,  Wady,  57, 64. 

Turkish  camp,  169. 

Tziatin,  113. 

Um  Baghek,  Wady,  51. 

Um  el  Bedt'in,  Wady,  51. 

Um  Halafisah,  36. 

Um  el  Kuseir,  197. 

Um  Rasas,  156 ;  its  churches,  158 ;  tow- 
er of,  160. 

Um  Welced,  193 ;  khan,  forum,  and 
temple,  194, 195. 

Usdum,  Jebel,  52 ;  geology  of,  54, 55. 

Vineyards,  ancient,  155. 

Waleh,  Kirbet,  el,  243. 
Warren,  Captain,  229. 
Watch-towers  of  vineyards,  25. 
Watering  fields,  system  of,  in  Safleh,61. 
Weideh,  Wady,  73. 
Wells,  115, 119. 


Wilderness  of  Judah,  39. 
Willows,  brook  of,  72,  82. 
Wilson,  Captain,  R.  E.,  48. 
Wind,  gale  of,  371. 
Wine-press,  ancient,  116. 
Wolf,  834. 

Yakiti,  36. 

Zadam,  20;  rescues  us,  103;  courtesy 
of,  109,  243,  294,  356,  375,  376  ;  at 
home,  167 ;  marriage  of,  356. 

Zadoud,  Kirbet,  36. 

Zafaran,  191, 192. 

Zamzummim,  132. 

Zara,  270,  291 ;  descent  to,  293 ;  oasis 
of,  295 ;  to  Callirrhoe  from,  293. 

Zared  or  Zered,  brook,  64. 

Zareth-shahar,  270,  291. 

Zatum,  243. 

Zebib,  Khan,  185;  caves  and  temples 
at,  187, 188. 

Zerka  Ma'in,  Wady,  or  Callirrhoe,  249, 
262,  287  ;  mouth  of,  300  ;  clamber  up 
the,  301. 

Zfara,  338,  341 ;  view  from,  342 ;  iden- 
tity with  Zoar,  343. 

Ziph,  wilderness  of,  35,  36. 

Ziz,  cliflf  and  pass  of,  41. 

Ziza,  197  ;  tank  of,  198  ;  sculpture  at, 
204. 

Zoar,  conjectured,  76;  bishop  of,  76; 
identity  with  Zi'ara,  343. 

Zophim,  field  of,  339. 

Zuioeirah,  Wady,  52. 

Zuzim,  132. 


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of  the  Holy  Land,  and  the  Costumes,  Manners,  and  Habits  of  the  People. 
Two  large  12mo  Volumes,  Cloth,  $5  00. 

WALLACE'S  MALAY  ARCHIPELAGO.  The  Malay  Archipelago :  the  Land 
of  the  Orang-utan  aud  the  Bird  of  Paradise.  A  Narrative  of  Travel, 
lS54-'6-2.  With  Studies  of  Man  and  Nature.  By  Alfbed  Rcssel  Wal- 
lace.  With  Maps  and  numerous  Illustrations.    Crown  Svo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

WELLS'S  EXPLORATIONS  IN  HONDURAS.  Explorations  aud  Adven- 
tures in  Honduras ;  comprising  Sketches  of  Travel  in  the  Gold  Regions 
of  Olancho,  aud  a  Review  of  the  History  aud  General  Resources  of  Cen- 
tral America.  By  William  V.  Wells.  With  Original  Maps  and  numer- 
ous Illustrations.    Svo,  Cloth,  $3  50. 

WHYMPER'S  ALASKA.  Travel  and  Adventure  in  the  Territory  of  Alaska, 
formerly  Russian  America— now  ceded  to  the  United  States— and  in  va- 
rious other  Parts  of  the  North  Pacific.  By  Fbedeeiok  Whympeb.  With 
Map  and  Illustrations.     Crown  Svo,  Cloth,  $2  50. 

WILKINSON'S  ANCIENT  EGYPTIANS.  A  Popular  Account  of  the 
Ancient  Egyptians.  Revised  and  abridged  from  his  larger  Work.  By 
Sir  J.  Gabdneb  Wilkinson,  D.C.L.,  F.R.S.,  &c.  Illustrated  with  500 
Woodcuts.    2  vols.,  12mo,  Cloth,  $3  50. 


SOUTHFRMli^®^fi*y  °'  California 
LOS  ANGELES,  CA^IfSrN  ^yogl^'sll^''' 


Jl 


THE  IJnVAnY 
UNIVERSITY  OF  CALlFOilNl 
LOS  ANGELES 


_BS TristP^ 

107         ^he  land  of 

T73  1 moah- 

1873 


3  1158  00509  0781 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


AA    000  828  338    4 


